Western Hognose Behavior Change and Biting

[mclindenk11]

So recently my western hognose has really changed her behavior..

I've had her for a little over a year now and I got her when she was just a few months old so I was her first owner. I regularly took her out of her terrarium a few times week so she would be used to being handled and I have been feeding her pinkies every 4-5 days. She handled being held very well and she's a good feeder and came out from her under her hide every day. Everything seemed normal. However things started changing recently.
Since July, I started a new full time job in New York and I live in Pennsylvania so I spend 5.5-6 hours commuting every day, 5 days a week so I haven't been handling her as much because I get home around 9-10pm. That also means I have to feed her at night because no one else in my house will do it because they think it "gross" or whatever.
So two weeks ago, I reached into her tank and she bit me and I was able to get her off after a couple of minutes but I thought that was strange. She never bit me when I reached into her tank before so I thought maybe she smelt food on my hand. Next feeding went fine. Tonight I tried feeding her again and I took her out and she tried biting me again but I managed to move one I felt her teeth and she wasn't able to really sink in. I thought all of this was strange because hognoses don't really bite like this so I figured I must be doing something wrong, whether that be feeding her late, not handling her enough (usually only to feed her) or terrarium conditions, or maybe I should be moving up to fuzzies? This is my first western hognose so I haven't had any experience with this before.
I want to have a happy and healthy reptile so if anyone could offer any advice or possible reasons to why her behavior changed so suddenly from being so friendly and adventurous to biting me every time I pick her up, you would really be helping me out.
Thank you!

[TRD]

Maybe she was hungry.. that's usually when a usually placid, calm snake bites you. You may of also just startled her, so first of all; is it a repeated behavior?

1.. describe how she lives, temperature, humidity, etc
2.. what size is she, and what weight. a picture with something to compare her size to would help
3.. how much do you feed here (size and frequency)
4.. were there any changes to her environment, even outside of her terrarium, that could cause some level of stress? f.e. a new cat with a particular interest in the snake, lots of new noises, etc

[Andy_G]

This is not defensive/startled/stress related behaviour for the species. It is a feeding response bite.

I must note that a female hognose, if fed properly, is ready for fuzzies at around 4 to 6 months of age, so you should definitely be feeding her more. At a little over a year old females are usually ready for hopper mice, but yours may not be due to the fact that she's still being offered pinkies. Some hognose have such a feeding response that they will bite anything out of hunger. I would advise buying a mini snake hook to tap her head gently with whenever you will handle her. I would also feed her in her own enclosure, as a separate feeding enclosure does little good for keeper or kept.

In short: up the feeding, get a small snake hook, and don't move her to feed her.

[mclindenk11]

When I first got to snake, I was told they couldn't sex it because it was too young so we took I guess that maybe it was female. But because it was never sexed since I got it ad based off of its current size, I have been speculating that it might actually be male but I have been always saying she. I know the females are larger than males but I have never seen many hognoses in person to make that judgement with my own snake. This is also my first snake and I don't have any reptile people I can talk to in my area and the people that are employed at the pets plus around me didn't know what a western hognose was so now I don't even bother referring to pet store people.
As for your questions:
1. temperature high 70's at night & mid 80's during the day during the winter. I have also been considering buying a new terrarium thats longer and not so tall. Also maybe a heating mat under the terrarium? The humidity is was 50's.
2. My snake is about 16 to 17 inches long at a year and a half old so that's why i've been second guessing whether or not it really is a female. For weight, I'm not positive because I don't have a proper scale.
3. I feed her 1 pinkie every 4 days. I've compared fuzzies to her width and I was worried that it was too large for her to swallow.
4. As far as the environment outside her terrarium, nothing has really changed. I have a dog but she's kept in a separate room away from the dog and that's quiet for half of the day.

I hope this helps! I just want to make sure my snake is its healthiest and happiest and I try to provide her/him with the best I know how.

[Jim Smith]

While this may be a feeding strike, I'm not convinced that it is the result of her not being held frequently so you are perceived as a threat. I believe that the best way to break this behavior is to try to handle the snake at least twice a week for about 10 minutes at a time. She will become used to you and not see you as a threat. Just my two cents worth...

[mclindenk11]

I think maybe I did startled her, because she seemed to get really defensive when I went into her tank because she was sleeping.
Also, I'm becoming more skeptical as she gets older because her size is starting to resembles more of a male hognose. It was only a few months old when I got it and they couldn't sex it so I really just made an educated guess and stuck with it.

1. It has two hides, one on the warm side and one on the cool side. The temperature right now is high 70's at night and mid 80's during the day. I've been considering getting a longer terrarium thats less high. Also, ,maybe changing the heat source to a heating mat under the tank?
2. It's about 16 -17 inches long. As for weight, I can't be positive because I don't have the proper scale.
3. I feed her 1 pinkie every 4 days. I was told once a week by the reptile person at the pet store I purchased her from. I shouldv'e gotten her from a breeder but there weren't any in my area. There also aren't many reptile shows and when they are, they're a couple hours away. I don't really refer to pet stores for information because they aren't really familiar with my breed.
4. There weren't any external environmental changes. Most of her day is very quiet and there are no other animals in the room.

I hope this helps! I just want want my snake to be its healthiest and happiest and provide her her/him the best that I can.

[mclindenk11]

This is not defensive/startled/stress related behaviour for the species. It is a feeding response bite.

I must note that a female hognose, if fed properly, is ready for fuzzies at around 4 to 6 months of age, so you should definitely be feeding her more. At a little over a year old females are usually ready for hopper mice, but yours may not be due to the fact that she's still being offered pinkies. Some hognose have such a feeding response that they will bite anything out of hunger. I would advise buying a mini snake hook to tap her head gently with whenever you will handle her. I would also feed her in her own enclosure, as a separate feeding enclosure does little good for keeper or kept.

In short: up the feeding, get a small snake hook, and don't move her to feed her.


After reading your post, I think my hognose really is a male. I knew it seemed small for a female but there are like no hognoses in my area- from a breeder, pet store, friend, whatever that I could see to make a judgement of my own snake.
Thank you for the advice, I think I definitely need to change the feeding routine somehow but I didn't know what was the exact issue and I wanted other opinions before I made any changes.
Thanks!

[mclindenk11]

While this may be a feeding strike, I'm not convinced that it is the result of her not being held frequently so you are perceived as a threat. I believe that the best way to break this behavior is to try to handle the snake at least twice a week for about 10 minutes at a time. She will become used to you and not see you as a threat. Just my two cents worth...
I used to handle her a lot more and never encounter this problem, but with working so far away affected my attention towards it, I thought maybe that might have something to do with it. I will make sure that I find the time somehow to handle her a few times each week.
Thank you!

[TeamSlitherin]

Agreed with everyone above that this sounds like a feeding response. If she's only on weekly fuzzies, she's probably just hungry. Get her on hoppers and see how that goes.

[craigafrechette]

My advice would be to up prey size and don't move her prior to feeding. You've got yourself a hungry girl looking for food. Get a few properly sized meals in her (what does she weigh?) and I think you will see her start to act more like she used to. You'll be able to handle her normally if she's not so hungry.