more hognose Q's

[sunset]

Well, he's eating now (thank God) He just decided it was time. Now he's a pig again. Anyway, my question is this; I know they like to dig, what is the best substrate? I have heard a few things about respiratory infections if you use the wrong kind, but dammit, I can't find the link. What is the best kind, and how deep should it be?

[Vanan]

I find that shredded aspen works best for them. Depth of about 2" is usually good enough for adults. I find that the babies burrow more than adults.

[Matt]

i second that opinion for aspen, works great, real clean and yes, they will burrow in it....I am a real advocate for keeping hognoses on something they can burrow in....newpaper just doesnt seem right for a species that i have found to really burrow quite a bit!

[Vanan]

I do have to add that even though I recommended shredded aspen, I do not use it now cos Katt has bad allergies to any aromatic wood.

Since then I've been trying lots of other subtrate, coir, crushed walnut, shredded newspaper etc. I eventually settled with the least recommended newspaper. It comes with a price as it's extremely messy and needs to be cleaned twice as often as compared to my other colubrids. Nothing beats shredded aspen for most NA colubrids IMO.

[sunset]

Thanks!

[cyberfrog]

I know alot of people use that carefresh stuff for hogs. That's actually what hognose.com reccomends.

[SnowFoxx]

I swear by Carefresh for my Hognose. I think it's easier for them to burrow in than aspen. I also think it looks nicer (it comes in white now) and is easier to clean up. There's some debate about humidity problems with Carefresh, but my little guy just had a perfect shed, and he has never been kept on anything else. Just my $.02.

- Victoria :w

[sunset]

What exactly is carefresh?

[SnowFoxx]

Kinda hard to describe. It's soft papery-like stuff that comes in grey or white. It's sort of clumpy. Um. Any pet store will have it, go take a look!

- Victoria :w

[NewLineReptile]

i have two wester hognose snakes and what i do is moist up some reptile bark with a bit of peat moss

good luck

[sunset]

Thanks, I went and got some care fresh (in white!:) ) last night. I put it in there, an I haven't seen him since. I see his little holes going all over the place. He loves it! Thanks everyone!
Oh yeah, since you were talking about humidity probs, will I need to mist? He will drink out of his water bowl no prob. (I actually caught him drinking uot of my water glass one day when I had him out, it was funny, I guess you had to be there)

[SnowFoxx]

I haven't had a problem with humidity at all. Perth just had a perfect shed, and I haven't misted his cage once. He did lay around in his water bowl, like a good boy, which made the difference, I'm sure. Also, Westerns could from a drier habitat naturally, so they don't need the humidity like many other snakes do.

- Victoria :w

[sunset]

Thank you all so much! I'm used to pythons, so this whole colubrid thing is all new to me, I wanted to be able to give him the best home possible.