View Full Version : Need help from someone who knows about hogsnakes
Hi I’m having a major problem with my hognose snake. I really don’t know what’s wrong with her and I’m happy to answer any questions about my husbandry to find out what is wrong,I seem to be making some sort of mistake. I’m pretty sure everybody’s going to tell me to just take her to the vet, but the nearest vet is two hours away and that’s really not an option for me right now moneywise anyway.. I’m just hoping there is someone on here that knows a lot about hognose snakes and can maybe give me an idea of what is going on. Ok Basically I got her when she was 10 months old this is her second winter with me. Last winter she stopped eating and would not eat anything for three months so after some research,I figured she was just in brumation, although It worried me a little bit because she would come out frequently and act hungry, but I never could get her to eat I tried everything that I could think of. Anyway,fast forward to this winter she has been eating more frequently maybe once every week or two So I haven’t been as worried, actually, this is kind of bad, but I’ve been pretty busy so I’d probably have not looked at her as much as I should I just kinda threw a mouse in, and she seemed OK she didn’t seem that skinny,maybe a little bit, but I figured it was just the winter, she would put weight back on when she got to eating more when it warmed up. ( she seemed pretty healthy when I got her but she’s never been as big of an eater as I would like,some people recommend feeding hognoses a couple times a week I’ve never been able to get her to take food more often been about every five days sometimes longer and the breeder was feeding her once a week) well she was out against the glass about a week ago and that’s my Cue that she wants something to eat so I defrosted a mouse for her and noticed she really was looking pretty skinny so I thought you know I’m going to try to feed her more often and coax her to eat more frequently to fatten her up. I also picked her up,I hadn’t picked her up in a while just trying to kind of leave her alone ( except for meal times)since it’s been kind of cold and I’ve been busy. Well I was Shocked at how light she felt she’s definitely lost a lot of weight so I fed her again and left her alone to digest about for five days later she was out so I defrosted a mouse and put it in her cage she would not eat it, I left it in there for a little bit andShe never would eat it so I took it out and threw it. A couple days later( yesterday )She was out so I tried again,with a fresh mouth this time, that I just killed. I picked her up and was studying her and I noticed she has a slight, I guess, lump after the vent in her tail now when I think a lump near the tail I think of impaction but she has definitely been pooping and this lump is after her vent not before it’s not very big, but it is noticeable, so I just wondered if anyone had any ideas what’s going on there? she still acting pretty normal but there’s definitely something off. Anyway she wouldn’t eat the fresh mouse, so I Debrained it and got one of my daughters frogs (which I’m sure the frog appreciated) and rubbed the mouse on his back I then gave it back to the snake and she did decide to eat it. Now this mouse was one of my breeders that I have had, so it was a little bit bigger than the ones I normally feed her, but I still wouldn’t think that it would be too big for her, but I don’t know maybe it was, because today she regurgitated it (I fed it to her yesterday)Anyway I’m not 100% sure what caused that? Is it because she’s sick? or is it because the mouse was too big? if anyone has any ideas on what I can do to help her, I would really appreciate it. I’ve read time and again most of what goes wrong with snakes is in their husbandry and I feel bad that I’ve made some mistakes somewhere and have caused this, but I really don’t know how to fix them if I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. And if someone thinks it’s parasites or something I can try to figure out how to worm her or something but I just didn’t know if anyone had any ideas about anything?I’m sure I’ll get 10 different opinions but anyway, Ask any questions you need to and thanks for reading this. sorry about the long question
Well, sorry you go through such an ordeal... but lets start with the basics...
Can you show a picture of her enclosure, and some sizes
Can you tell which temperatures you keep her on, and how are you heating
Some basic info on husbandry (substrates, etc) may help, though at this point not too relevant
Are you feeding inside/outside enclosure
Picture of that lump may help
Weigh her, write it down, and weight her every 2 weeks before feeding time (like a day before) so you keep record of where she's going
Regurgitation can have multiple causes, hard to say at this point without knowing your husbandry
In addition to what TRD has asked-what subspecies of hognose are we talking about, and what species of frog did you use for scenting?
craigafrechette
03-07-18, 08:48 AM
Like the others said, pictures and details about your enclosure, heating equipment, temps, etc...will help us help you
Hi sorry about not getting back with y’all when it rains it pours I’ve been dealing with baby goat issues outside, our does seem to be like having quadruplets😮and that’s causing issues. I have not been inside or online Lately. Her enclosure is actually pretty big it’s almost 4‘ x 2‘ that’s the she’s been in this enclosure ever since I got her. I know some people say they don’t like large enclosures but I thought since she had several hides it would be fine her temperatures currently are ranging from 73 on the coldest part To probably about 95 in the hottest area and there’s lots of in between temperatures so I figure she can just kind of go where she’s comfortable I would send you guys a picture but I’m actually not sure how to send pictures on forums I’ve never done it before. I tried to feed her again the other day and she would not eat it I’m fixing to try again today
Oh also I’m using a heat mat in her enclosure yes I guess I do need to start wearing her but I can look at her until she’s just getting skinnier for bedoing I’m using Sani chips and I saw something when I was doing research the day I posted this, that some female hognoses can get there musk glands stopped up or something? There were different arguments as to why this happens and some said it was more common with females some said it was from the substrate been to dry some said it was from the cage being dirty some said they didn’t know it was kind of a controversial subject where I was reading, lots of arguments. so I really don’t know what it it is for sure, but I thought maybe it has something to do the lump has something to do with her sent glands?
Oh and sorry she
is a western hognose
Sorry that was supposed to say weighing her not wearing her
Ok, thanks... I would start with taking her to a reptile vet to have that lump checked out.
Enclosure and temps seem to be fine.
I tend to be a fan of natural substrates like topsoil/sand mixes, not of chips/bark types. Finer materials will pass just fine with snakes... it's larger indigestible pieces that can be unpleasant, especially for smaller snakes (I keep only small snakes myself, so I'm a bit biased there as a larger python or such has no issues passing typical bark pieces).
It would be best to get that lump sorted out before anything. I'd raise the cool end temps as close to 80 as possible to stimulate appetite, but this may do nothing until the lump has been figured out because even if husbandry is 100% if there is illness present a snake may not eat. As far as the substrate thing goes, i'll disagree with what you read and see no reason for there to be any controversy honestly..aspen/sani chips are fine and these snakes can live in a relatively dry environment in general and it will not cause the issue you explained if the snake is otherwise healthy.
craigafrechette
03-14-18, 07:04 AM
A) I agree that the lump needs to be addressed first, by a vet. If you can't get a local vet or afford a vet you shouldn't be keeping the animals. It's not fair to them that you can't properly care for them.
B) Hognose like smaller enclosures and don't typically use hides like most other snakes. They prefer to burrow more often than hide or will hide under water dishes, plants, etc... But they prefer to be dug down rather than in a cave. That cute little nose is there for burrowing and digging for food....so, yes, the enclosure should be smaller. A 20 gallon is plenty big for an adult female.
C) Cool side temps need to come up to about 80, hot spot needs to drop to no higher than 92.
ARE YOUR HEAT SOURCES REGULATED BY A THERMOSTAT??
Albert Clark
03-14-18, 10:14 AM
THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. Thermostat absolutely is paramount.
Would be curious why you believe 95F is too high a hotspot, and 72F too cool for a cold side, and 4x2 too much a floorspace, craig.
Anyway, the bigger issue at hand here is the lump, the weight/feeding, and not the other parameters.
craigafrechette
03-15-18, 05:29 AM
Would be curious why you believe 95F is too high a hotspot, and 72F too cool for a cold side, and 4x2 too much a floorspace, craig.
Anyway, the bigger issue at hand here is the lump, the weight/feeding, and not the other parameters.
I've based that upon my own personal experience, granted I've only been keeping hognose for a year, as well as information I have read and learned from an extremely reputable hognose breeder.
I never go above 90. As hatchlings, yes, incrrased temps. But lowered as they get older and are eating well. The cool side I keep above 75, usually sits at 76. As for the floor space, it's a lot for a hognose, even an adult female. My sub-adult male is in a 10 gallon for life, females do extremely well in 20 gallons. Don't get me wrong, a healthy, well established adult could thrive in a larger enclosure, but the OP's snake doesn't fall in that category.
OK everybody,first off,yes I do realize I should not get an animal if I can afford to keep it..when I got her I was in a better financial situation that I am just now, but enough about that. As far as temperature goes being too hot or too cold..I guess to me it makes sense that if the snake is cool she’ll go to the hot side of the Habitat and if she gets too hot she’ll go to the cooler side there’s lots of in between temperatures and just like snakes out in the wild I figured they’ll go where they’re comfortable, maybe I’m wrong about this, but that’s what makes sense to me,she did eat yesterday but she regurgitated her food today, I am going to try moving her to a smaller enclosure and maybe to my sunroom where it’s a little warmer to just see what happens. I’m still trying to do my research,when I can afford it I’m going to try to take her to vet or somethingIf I can find one,didn’t have much success with the last one that claimed they knew about reptiles although that was years ago. And it was a lizard not a snake,this is the first snake I’ve had problems with. Thanks for the advice I’m certainly not to try trying to start any controversy here. Oh and yes she does have a thermostat but depending on how high the litter is piled over her heat mat the temperature can vary even with a thermostat according to my Temperature gun. Anyway I’m just going to keep trying here and keep researching different causes and reasons has anybody heard of the clogged Musk glands by any chance or dealt with that?That was one thing I read that could be a possible Cause for the lump
Ok, first you really need that lump looked after. All your ailments could well be connected to that. For any of the possible causes of it, you need a vet to diagnose and present a treatment for it. If the snake's body can't get rid of waste, it will poison itself... kidney failure, liver damage, and so forth.
I don't know how long this lump has been there, but better late than never I suppose.
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