Wanting help

[thomas1123]

So as some of you know i got my hognose the other day and now he is starting to come out alot more than he did the first 2 days. well just now a saw him out and i put my finger on the cage to see what he would do. well he slithered over to were my finger was and got into the striking position lol and struck at my finger lol it kinda startled me and i just kept me finger there for two more strikes then he went under some leaves. i put my hand next to the leaves and he struck some more. do you think he is hungry or just angry? should i try to feed him now?

[sickvenom]

all you are doing is harassing him and stressing him out.

[thomas1123]

ohh whoops i did not know that. :/

[sickvenom]

did you get a copy of his feeding schedule?

[thomas1123]

every monday. i put a pinkie in his tank and i think he bit it and let go i could really see because of the plant but he didnt eat it. ill try in a few days see if he eats anything. should i feed him in his tank or out of his tank?

[sickvenom]

i always feed outside of the cage for health and monitoring reasons. you might want to try dangling the rodent in front of him to entice feeding.

[thomas1123]

yeah thats what i was doing but he was hissing and doing the closed mouth strikes at the mouse so he was probably scared of it but on wednesday im pplanning on holding him for the first time! should i use gloves or not? i was just going to were gloves so if he musks it will be on the glove. how long should i hold him and should i try to feed him again?
Thanks

[sickvenom]

no need for a glove. if he freaks out too much, put him back in his cage to avoid stress. if he calms down and let's you hold him, then i wouldn't hold him for longer than 5-10 minutes the first time. you can try feeding him again, but i would do it before you try holding him. otherwise, pick him up, put him in a feeding tub and dangle a mouse in front of him. if he just strikes at it and doesn't eat it, leave it in the tub with your snake for little while.

[Lankyrob]

Personally i wouldnt hold him until he is feeding regular - handling is stressful, especially for young snakes, and the biggest reason for snakes not eating is stress.

When he was striking at your finger was it through the glass? Thats what it sounds like and if so you were encouraging him to strike at a hard object that could damage his jaws/teeth/nose etc

[shaunyboy]

yeah thats what i was doing but he was hissing and doing the closed mouth strikes at the mouse so he was probably scared of it but on wednesday im pplanning on holding him for the first time! should i use gloves or not? i was just going to were gloves so if he musks it will be on the glove. how long should i hold him and should i try to feed him again?
Thanks


i would wait until he eats regular before you start to handle him mate as its more important to get them eating than anything else

try giving the food a good heat with a hair dryer and tease him by wiggling it with a pair of feeding tongs a few inches from his face

if that fails you could try puncturing the pinkies skull 3 or 4 times with the point of a pair of scissors until grey liquid comes out the puncture holes

he seems to be nervous and striking to defend himself rather than striking to eat.if you give him total peace and quiet for a 7 days only going near him to change his water every 5 to 7 days he will start to feel secure and therefore start eating hopfully

i wish you all the best at next feeding time mate

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

no need for a glove. if he freaks out too much, put him back in his cage to avoid stress. if he calms down and let's you hold him, then i wouldn't hold him for longer than 5-10 minutes the first time. you can try feeding him again, but i would do it before you try holding him. otherwise, pick him up, put him in a feeding tub and dangle a mouse in front of him. if he just strikes at it and doesn't eat it, leave it in the tub with your snake for little while.


he will feel more secure being fed in his tank than getting pulled out and put in a feeding tub

i would only try feeding him in his tank for now mate

cheers shaun

[sickvenom]

he will feel more secure being fed in his tank than getting pulled out and put in a feeding tub

no. with feeding issues you need to monitor closely. you can't do that in a cage full of decor. he either needs to feed in a tub or take out all of his decor and bedding. feeding tub is easier and more practical. i understand transferring a skittish snake can cause stress, but it should be done quickly.

[Lankyrob]

no. with feeding issues you need to monitor closely. you can't do that in a cage full of decor. he either needs to feed in a tub or take out all of his decor and bedding. feeding tub is easier and more practical. i understand transferring a skittish snake can cause stress, but it should be done quickly.

Am confused what you can monitor in a tub that you cant monitor in the viv? Our guys all eat off plates in their viv with no issues (except the arboreals who feed hanging from their perch in their vivs).

[sickvenom]

Am confused what you can monitor in a tub that you cant monitor in the viv? Our guys all eat off plates in their viv with no issues (except the arboreals who feed hanging from their perch in their vivs).

but those are YOUR guys. just because YOUR guys eat off plates, that doesn't mean thomas1123's snake will. thomas1123 already stated he has leaves in his cage and his snake is skittish/aggressive. how can you monitor you new snake's first feeding behavior if there are object that could potentially get in the way? answer - you can't. not sure what you are confused about??????

[Lankyrob]

When they feed on thr plate they still get tease fed, you can still see the whole process but they dont have the additional stress of being removed from familiar surroundings.

[sassy_snake_lady]

My hognose is doing exactly the same right now. Hasn't fed since I got him 5 weeks ago but he is a yearling male and had been introduced to a female before I bought him so I think he just has the horn right now.

With the handling, I have just been doing little and often. The way I see it is wether I feed him in the tank or out, he needs to feel comfortable with me being near his tank and with my hand in the tank. I just ignore any hissing, striking and musking and gently pick him up. After about 30 seconds he calms. I then hold him maybe another 60 seconds and put him back while he is calm. I have increased the time everyday and so far so good. He no longer hisses when I out my hand in and now lets me pick him up. I will try feeding him this weekend so fingers crossed!!

Feeding inside or outside the tank is personal preference. IMO as long as you take measures to avoid any injestion of harmful substrates, I don't see any issues with either method.

[sickvenom]

When they feed on thr plate they still get tease fed, you can still see the whole process but they dont have the additional stress of being removed from familiar surroundings.

This is a skittish snake feeding for the first time by this owner. If he puts a dish in the cage and dangles food over it, I highly doubt the snake will know what's going on. Your method may work great for YOUR established specimens, but it is not practical in this situation. Best bet is to put him in a small tub and work with him in a smaller, confined space.