Quote:
Originally Posted by kernel
Greg, I have decided to start feeding mine more often after the info you shared. You say feed every 3 days, but would every 4 be OK? Also, I will be breeding them in the next year or so, so can you share every bit of info you have? I strive be the best keeper and breeder I can.
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Hey Kernel,
I will give you a quick rundown of how I do things. Hogs are very easy to keep and breed but if you keep them like corns and kings, you will not be very successful at breeding them.
Feeding every 4 days would be fine but I still prefer feeding every 3 days. Juviniles need to eat a lot to grow properly, adult females need to eat a lot in order to build up vitamin, mineral, and fat stores for breeding and adult males need to because they can go off feeding regularly during the breeding season. In fact I feed my males as often as they will eat.
When feeding this much, you need to run a hot basking spot. You should provide a basking area with a surface temperature in the low to mid 90's. They will utilize these temps through out the day for short periods of time.
Once your females are 200 grams or better, they will be ready to breed. It should take anywhere between a year and a year and a half for females to reach that size if kept properly. My youngest female was only 13 months old when she gave me her first fertile clutch. Males can be much younger and are usually sexually mature at 40 grams. I have heard of much smaller males getting the job done.
You should give hogs a brumation period where temps will be in the mid to high 50's. I drop mine down to 54. I stop feeding them 2 weeks before I drop their temps to make sure they do not have any undigested food in their systems. Some people gradually drop their temps. I do not. I take them from their normal temps and drop them down to 54 degrees. While in brumation, they are always offered fresh clean water. At those temps, they are slowed down but still very much awake and somewhat active. Hydration for this species during brumation is very important. I keep my hogs down for 8 to 10 weeks then they go right back into normal temps.
Once they have basked for a few hours and warmed up fully, I offer them their first meal. Once they have eaten, I start introducing the pairs. I will keep my animals together until I can visually see the female is gravid. Once I know the female is gravid, I remove the male so the female can lay her eggs without being disturbed. Once the female lays her eggs, I feed her and then put the male right back in to breed for the double clutch. With hogs, you can use a different male for the second clutch.
During this entire time my hogs are eating every 3 days. My females usually eat up until they day they are going to lay. Certain females get fed during egg laying in order to keep them from eating their eggs.
A side note.
I offer all my hogs and humid hide/nest box year round. While hogs do come from dry arid places, they do spend lots of time underground where it much more humid. Like most reptiles, hognose snakes need humidified areas where they can go to retain water they take in.
Thats it in a nut shell.
Hybrid Mode
