WC Eastern Hognose

[Tiredwbu]

He's doing just fine, but I'd like to switch over to rodents.
Can I scent a pinky by rubbing it on my green iguana? So it'll smell like a lizard.

[Gregg M]

You are most likely setting your self up for failure. Easterns are notorious for not converting well to rodents and most wild caughts do not do well in captivity. And no, rubbing a pinkie on your iguana will not work. You need to use a frog for scenting and it is not as easy as just rubbing the pinkie on one

[StudentoReptile]

Ditto on what Gregg said. I can count on one hand with fingers left over the number of people I know who have successfully converted an eastern to mice, and they were experienced hognose keepers...and it was not easy.

Most others I know just mass-collect or buy-in-bulk feeder toads. There is risk obviously, because of possible parasite transmission, but it is much easier to care for a tank full of toads than the headache of trying the conversion.

[MDT]

i had a WC eastern years ago....it ate like a champ in the summer when toads and frogs were plentiful. toward the end of summer, it was very tough to feed. would not convert to pinks, so i released it. have not tried a hognose since. cool animals, but i'll leave them in the wild. there are too many easier species (and captive bred to boot). just my 2 cents....