southern hognose or western hognose?

[Nicky]

hey everyone,
i was curious what the some of the differences are between keeping the western and southern hognose snake i would like to get one maybe at the show on the 20th but am not sure if a 10 gal is big enough. I read on a caresheet it is ok but u know the what some sites are like.Which is smaller and what are there caging requirments like. If anyone knows some good caresheets or some good books that would be good going to petstore in couple hours so if anyone knows some book names the sooner the better thx all:)
kayla

[Swampwalker]

Check out hognose.com , its a great information site for hognose snakes.

[Nicky]

thx so much:)

[Nicky]

after checking out the caresheet i have two questions one it never metioned what size of tank is required for the western hognose snake. also i noticed there are three different subspeices of western hognose can they all eat mice or just one kind. thx

[snakehunter]

all westerns can eat mice.

a baby hog could live in a ten gallon for most of its life, remember, males only get two feet MAX

[sapphire_moon]

great, now I want a hognose! sounds like the perfect snake for me....lol

[Nicky]

when u say most of its life does that mean i should switch it when it gets older later on? i have a 20 gal will that be enough. Does anyone know if anyone will be selling them at the show on the 20th and how much a normal phase go for. thx ya hognose sounds like the perfect snake for me to at the moment running out of room in bedroom, my mom says there not taking over the living room. lol
thx again
kayla

[Nicky]

oh ya can u keep too togther my brother wants to get one i also have a 10 gal so i guess we could keep one in the 10 and one in the 20 unless its ok to keep too togther than they could both live in the 20

[Sean_.E.]

A large female may need a 20 gallon tank but over all most hogs can live in a 10 or 15 gallon encloser for their whole life.

Each animal should be kept in its own enclosure unless they are a breeding pair. You could always put one in the 20 gallon and one in the ten galllon.

At the Missisauga show they usually go for $80-$125.

Good luck with your hognose(s).
Sean

[Nicky]

woohoo thx well i guess i'll be geeting two hognoses at the show one for my little bro whos obbsesed with snakes and one for me. oh ya what substraste do u think is better for borrowing( they do like to dig right? thats what i read) sand or the dirt expandable stuff.
thx again all
kayla

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

NEVER SAND! Lol. Potting soil, mulch, shredded bark or something like that. Even aspen shavings but not cedar.

[Nicky]

ok kool lol omg i'm sorry i have one more question do they like to climb as well if so how stroing are they for pushing cage lids of mine is pretty strong with no cracks. um oh ya and humidity is fine at about 20$-40% rock on thx oh ya anyone know if theres any books out there any in piticular that u find good for info or sites.
thx rock on
kayla

[snakehunter]

no, they arent climbers, give them about an inch or two of substrate, theyre burrower.

hognose.com has a great site, full of great info and sheets

[crimsonking]

Westerns are much easier to find and keep anyway (as opposed to southerns). You should find lots of westerns up there, but I'm not sure of anyone working with simus in Canada. They'd probably be expensive. Go with the westerns if hognose is what you want. Read all you can on them. They do posess a mild venom that can be a problem for some individuals. Keep that in mind too.
:Mark

[Nicky]

ya i read about that but it was really strong opinions some would say no venom because there no venom sacks or and others would say yes. If its just mild i'm hoping its not enough to make u seriosly sick. I'm hoping to pick up at least one at the show maybe i'll get two depends on my mom.

[sapphire_moon]

no matter what kind of snake, your never "supposed" to keep 2 snakes in the same tank unless it is for breeding purposes..........

This sucks. I want a hognose, like yesterday! lol :)

[Nicky]

thats kool ya i have two tanks a 20 and 10 so i'll keep on in each and get a 20 gal for the one in the 10 when its older. looks like i might be waiting ahwile thoe my mom keep schanging her mind befor she said yes now she says no :( i guess i'll have to wait till spring when the next expo after the febuary one.
thx all
kayla

[snakey]

All snake venom is just highly evolved saliva. All snakes have it. But we have been mistakenly taught over the years that some snakes are poisonous and some are not. A more accurate analogy would be that some snakes are way more poisonous than others,... or some snakes can kill some people, and some can't kill most people. And the rest of that is ,... each persons body will not nessecarily react the same to a bite of any given species. For example...I've heard of people dying from a copperhead bite, but I've known folks who didn't even go to the doctor. The degree of effect depends on many factors! ...But,... I've never known anyone to have been affected in the least by a hognose. In fact I've never heard of one actualy opening it's mouth during a defensive strike. All the ones I've seen have been strictly mouth closed. It's just a bluff like the hissing, hood spread, and playing dead. All the specimens I've ever seen were realy cool snakes.

[sapphire_moon]

I have seen open mouthed strikes. and even one that followed someone's hands around with it's mouth open. You can be deadly allergic to hognose venom if your immune system is overactive.

a western hognose is supposed to eat better than a southern, which I have heard will eat only toads and such.

[Auskan]

[i]This sucks. I want a hognose, like yesterday! lol :) [/B]

You mean you want another one? I thought you already have one?

[mrsogle]

Nicky:
My husband has a Western hognose and she is adorable. The Westerns have 3 defenses that I know of, and one of them is that they will roll over and play dead. It's to cute.

[sapphire_moon]

I got one a couple of days after that post! lol

[Nicky]

kool thx everyone well only 3 more weeks till the show and then i;m getting my new hognose:) i'll be sure to post pics even thoe my web cam is all i have and its very blurry:S