New to snake: Looking at a hognose (advice plz)

[Scubadiver59]

I didn’t realize that you were concerned about the size of the tank...a King will hit five feet so you’d need a 40gal eventually (all my adult kings are in 40gal tanks).

If you’re dead set on getting a Hognose, get a female—all my female snakes are the best eaters...ALL of them. As Craig said, it can be a challenge with the Hognose. I too had to move my Hognose to a small tub to get him to eat regularly; in fact, I had to take him out of his early enclosures and put him on the carpet, put the small pinky mouse in front of him, and then, and only then he would much them down (and make a mess on my carpet).

I guess any snake can be a pain, but if you are space constrained, you might want to forgo Kings, Corns, or Garters due to the 5-6ft length they “could” reach. Just be prepared for some juggling of cage sizes, moving to tubs, changing prey in and out, etc. with a Hognose. I guess it could be the same for any other snake, but as you can tell, Hognose snakes are infamous for it.

And regarding the bites? Once you get your cherry popped it isn’t so bad. You might wince, curse, but you won’t flinch as much as you normally do; in fact, you might be able to read them better and avoid future bites. The teeth are needle sharp, but defensive bites are quick and it only sting for a second; but when you get a feeding response bite, have a credit card ready to slide underneath the top jaw to help release snake from your skin.