Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
- All Hatchlings listed for sale are produced by Star Dragon Herps unless explicitly stated otherwise.
- All animals listed for sale have taken at least 10 meals total, 4 meals consecutively, and have had at least 1 growth shed. (necessary for Gender testing.)
- Our Hognose Snakes have, to the best of our ability, been either genetically tested by RareGeneticsInc.com to guarantee the gender or identified by our team of breeders. If they have been tested by RareGeneticsInc.com then it will be indicated by an * next to the listed gender and a copy of the certificate will be included with the purchase.
- All Hognose Snakes for sale are currently eating Unscented Frozen/Thawed mice unless explicitly stated otherwise.
- Temperament is not guaranteed
TroubleShooting
Upon arrival to a new home, it is important to let your new snake
acclimate, before placing them in a heated enclosure. Let them sit safely in their travel cup (or bag) for a few hours to adjust to your ambient temperatures. After that, it should be safe to place them into your enclosure of choice. Let them settle in their new environment for at least 24 hours before offering food. We do recommend offering a meal before 72 hours have passed after arrival, but don’t fret if your Hognose snake does not take it in this time.
It is highly suggested you wait a week, or maybe two (depending on the temperament of your new animal) before handling. Hognose snakes can be high-strung, and excessive stressors can put them off food. An ample settling period can help prevent a stress-based hunger strike.
We strongly recommend any new animals (from us or otherwise) go through a minumum 30 day quarantine when introduced to a new
environment (60 days is even better). For the first portion of quarantine, you should keep your animal on paper towels or a similar simple substrate so you can monitor both the animal and it’s excrement for signs of abnormalities.
We recommend keeping documentation of your animal’s weight, feeding, and sheds. Often the first sign of illness is weight loss!
Proper Husbandry is very important to keeping a healthy animal. A proper enclosure for a Hognose snake should have a deep substrate that can be burrowed into, ample cover and hides, and a good sized water dish. They also need a consistent temperature gradient to allow them to self-regulate.
- Here at Star Dragon Herps, we like to use a mixture of Aspen Shavings and Sanichips (Aspen Chips) for our adult snakes to provide a nice sanitary environment that facilitates burrowing and easy cleaning. For our younger snakes we keep them on only Sanichips as the smaller pieces are not a risk for impaction if consumed. Whatever substrate you use, It should be deep enough for your snake to completely burrow underneath (3-4 inches)
- Ideal water dishes should be big enough for your snake to curl up inside, with most or all of their coils covered by water but not too tall that they can’t find their way inside. This may make a mess, but sometimes they love it. It is very important to keep clean water available at all times. Note: if you have a younger/smaller snake and they are having trouble drinking enough water you can surround the dish with substrate to make it more easily accessible.
- We generally recommend having at least 2 hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool side. Make sure you add cover and enrichment in the form of sanitized branches/bark and fake/silk flowers and leaves. (Sometimes their favorite is just a toilet paper roll center for a tunnel!)
- A good Temperature gradient should range from 77 degrees (Fahrenheit) on the cool side, and 91 degrees on the warm side. This should be regulated with a Temperature Controller attached to your heat source (on the warm side) and checked with a secondary temperature gauge. We recommend keeping a laser temp gun on hand to keep track of your animal’s environment.
If your hognose seems to consistently “tank surf” or continuously make frantic efforts to escape, these are generally signs of stress. The first and foremost fix for a new animal would be checking the above-listed husbandry conditions, possibly blacking out 3 sides of the enclosure, and then downgrading to a smaller enclosure. Hognose are an agoraphobic species, and may be comfortable in a much smaller enclosure than you would first expect!
Feeding
Here at Star Dragon Herps, our hatchlings are generally fed using Hemostats, which can usually be acquired online or at reptile shows.
Generally, a steady hand offering gently from in front will result in the best success! Be persistent but calm, as hognose don’t always have the best aim.
If you don’t want to offer directly, then leaving a frozen-thawed prey item on a small lid, plate, or in a tunnel can keep your new friend from consuming excessive substrate. (Not a guarantee though.) You can leave the food item with them for up to 24hours. After which the offering should be disposed of. (Do NOT refreeze any food item that has been even partially thawed!) If your Hognose did not eat its food item, simply discard the food and wait for the next scheduled feeding. Do not try to offer new food the next day, as this may stress out your snake and provoke a hunger strike. Sometimes it’s even better to skip a meal and leave them alone to let them settle if they have become extra stressed for some reason.
Prey size should at most, leave a small but visible bump on your snake. Do not feed more often than twice a week no matter how ‘hungry’ your new animal might behave. Hognose snakes are very active hunters, but not always the most successful! They don’t need extra food and can be prone to obesity which can cause serious health problems.
It’s generally better to feed one appropriately sized prey item, than 2
small prey items. Please be patient with your Hognose! Let them grow into the next size up of food. Offering a larger prey item too soon may spark a hunger strike, but reverting to the smaller size should perk them back up.
Surprisingly Hognose are very hardy snakes when it comes to skipping meals. Some in our collection have gone on food strikes for months without food with no real loss in weight. It can be stressful but just keep offering on a regularly scheduled basis, keep track of their weight so you know that there isn’t anything else going on, and they will eventually want to eat again. There are scents that you can use to entice your Hognose to eat again but if you get to that point please contact us so we can help.
Hydration
If these tips do not help, make sure your animal is drinking water! This is especially important because raised or pinched-looking skin along the neck/spine may indicate dehydration. A dehydrated snake WILL NOT EAT. If your animal is showing signs of dehydration, or you suspect they are not drinking sufficiently, try a long warm bath (84-degree water) in a ventilated but securely closed container, for an hour or two. If you can, make sure the bath is in a warm area, say in their enclosure if there is room or on a heating pad, otherwise the water may cool too fast and become too cold for your snake.
Please double-check to make sure they can easily access or even bathe in their water dish. It may be necessary to repeat the bath every day until signs of dehydration disappear. Some Hognose are picky about their water sources, so a change in water dish height or style may solve the problem.
If you have any problems or questions, please contact us. We’re happy to help you anytime!
-Star Dragon Herpetoculture.
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