Calming a baby hognose

[beefieee]

I recently picked up two western hognose. A 6mo old female Toffee and a 4mo old male Albino. They are in two separate 10 gallon tanks with hides, deep enough sand to borrow, water, and correct temps. The male is the chillest snake Ive every meet. He is always out in the open watching everything around him. I fed them on the 2nd day I had them. He just opened his month and waited for me to literally put the pinky in his mouth.

She is polar opposite. She huffs and puffs and even hisses if I even look at her. She refused the pinky and ran around the feeding tank as fast as she could go. I even left the pinky in her tank for a few hours. The guy i got she off of claimed that she's on F/T pinkys

Her body language isn't really aggressive but rather scared to death of everything. I own a few boas but never owned hognose. They are completely different animals. How can I keep to calm her? I left her alone for 3 days straight now and plan of trying to feed them again tomorrow.

[Andy_G]

3 days isn't very long to leave them be to settle in. Hands off for a week and then leave a f/t prey item overnight. I'd recommend feeding in their own enclosure and not using a separate feeding container.

These snakes never bite defensively, but can bite out of a hunger response. Calming down comes with age and repetitive handling, but rest assured it's all a show. First thing's first though, don't rush the settling in. Also perhaps move them off sand when you can, they fare better on aspen.

[serpentgirl123]

Originally Posted by beefieee

I recently picked up two western hognose. A 6mo old female Toffee and a 4mo old male Albino. They are in two separate 10 gallon tanks with hides, deep enough sand to borrow, water, and correct temps. The male is the chillest snake Ive every meet. He is always out in the open watching everything around him. I fed them on the 2nd day I had them. He just opened his month and waited for me to literally put the pinky in his mouth.

She is polar opposite. She huffs and puffs and even hisses if I even look at her. She refused the pinky and ran around the feeding tank as fast as she could go. I even left the pinky in her tank for a few hours. The guy i got she off of claimed that she's on F/T pinkys

Her body language isn't really aggressive but rather scared to death of everything. I own a few boas but never owned hognose. They are completely different animals. How can I keep to calm her? I left her alone for 3 days straight now and plan of trying to feed them again tomorrow.

My male hognose is like your female (still is, even after almost 2 yrs of having him--didn't get him as a baby). But refused to eat until I realized that for him, I had to put him in a small container (like ones the one he is was shipped in), inside his tub (lid on), and in the dark. It was the only time/way he would eat. Now it has gotten to the point, I drop the food off, cover the tub, and eventually he finds and eats it. He will not eat off the tongs, but I am happy he is eating.

Good luck! They can be tricky sometimes, especially compared to the boas and carpets I own--that would eat a shoe if it smelled like food.