The Western Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus) is a captivating, diurnal, and generally harmless colubrid native to North America, gaining popularity among reptile enthusiasts worldwide. Known for its unique upturned snout and intriguing behaviors, understanding its specific needs is crucial for responsible ownership. This comprehensive guide covers essential aspects of Western Hognose Snake diet and care to ensure a healthy and thriving life for your pet.
Understanding the Western Hognose Snake
The term 'hognose snake' encompasses various species sharing the characteristic upturned, hog-like nose used for digging in sandy soil and unearthing buried toads. These snakes are found across North America and even parts of South America. Western Hognose Snakes, specifically, inhabit Southern Canada, the American Midwest and South, and Northern Mexico.
Hognose snakes are characterized by short faces with upturned, pig-like snouts used for digging in sandy soil and unearthing buried toads. They have keeled, matte scales along the length of their body, although coloring and pattern vary based on species. Depending on the gender and species, hognoses can be anywhere between 14”-46” (36-117cm) long, with females tending to be much larger than the males.
They are well known for the hardened scale at the front of the face used to burrow and manipulate their environment. They have a number of features that differentiates them from other colubrid snakes in the same area. When threatened they will flatten the space directly behind their skull to form a hood much like cobra snakes. They are known to hiss loudly when under stress or trying to intimidate potential predators, they are much more vocal than other small snakes.
With increasing varieties of color phases, patterns and genetic mutations, its ease in care, and its uniqueness, the Western hognose is a great choice for new and seasoned reptile enthusiasts.
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Legality of Ownership
Currently, only Western hognose snakes can be legally kept as pets in Canada. This is because the country has similar laws to Australia when it comes to exotic and invasive species. According to Manitoba law, raising exotic species that are either wild or in captivity is highly regulated and can result in legal action. This excludes the Eastern, Southern, and Mexican hognose snake, although some types of Western hognose are native and therefore legal.
Enclosure and Environment
Enclosure Size
Conventional knowledge dictates that hognose snakes need minimum 1 sq ft per 1 ft of snake length. Key word here is minimum. Note that the above specifications are minimums only - BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER! The enclosure must be large enough to allow its occupant enough space to stretch out and exercise, as hognose snakes are very active when given the opportunity. But it also needs to be large enough to create an appropriate temperature gradient for the snake to thermoregulate with.
- Hatchlings: A plastic, 5-10 gallon reptile terrarium with a secure lid is ideal for a hatchling.
- Adults: An adult Western hognose can be kept in a 20- to 40 gallon equivalent enclosure. If housing several specimens, it can be more economical to use large, clear, plastic shoe or sweater boxes, the size of which depends on the size of the animals.
Substrate
As a fossorial species, hognose snakes are very dependent on the substrate element of their terrarium. They need to be housed on a substrate (a.k.a. Soil-like commercial substrates hold moisture well. In a pinch, you can use hemp bedding or shredded aspen. Provide a substrate layer that is at least 4” deep, but if you can provide more, deeper is great for this species. Feces and urates should be removed daily, and contaminated substrate should be scooped out and replaced.
- Hatchlings: For hatchling Western hognoses, the best substrate is newspaper.
- Adults: Shredded aspen bedding is the most popular reptile bedding for adult Western hognoses. It is easy to clean, allows the snakes to burrow, and, unlike cedar and pine, it is not hazardous to a snake’s respiratory system. Also popular, and generally safe, are recycled newspaper products that make cleaning up after the snakes easy.
Although wild Western hognoses inhabit regions of sandy, loose soils, it is not recommended that sand be used in their enclosures due to the threat of impaction.
Temperature and Lighting
Humans are warm-blooded, which means that our body temperature is automatically regulated. Hognose snakes, however, are cold-blooded, which means that they have to move between areas of different temperatures to regulate their body temperature. Hognose snakes typically warm up by sleeping in warm patches of sunlight or warm burrows.
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- Lighting: Because hognose snakes are diurnal, providing a source of light in the enclosure during the day is good for their mental health. For best results, use a timer to automatically turn them on and off. Bright light with a color temperature of 6000-7000K is suggested by experts to be particularly important to diurnal reptiles’ mental health. Full-spectrum lighting should be provided 14 to 16 hours per day during the spring and summer and eight to 10 hours during the autumn.
- Basking Area: Specific optimal basking temperatures may vary by which subspecies you’re keeping. Generally speaking, 50-75w halogen flood bulbs should be plenty to achieve your target basking surface temperature. The basking rock should be placed on top of the black plastic hide box, which will act as your warm hide. If you notice that they’re getting too hot, dial it down with a plug-in lamp dimmer.
You will need multiple heat bulbs to create a large enough basking area to evenly heat your hognose snake’s coiled body. Two bulbs should be enough for an average kingsnake. To measure the basking surface temperature, use an infrared thermometer (a.k.a. temperature gun). To measure the temperature of the warm hide, use a digital probe thermometer.
Under-tank heaters are available at pet stores and are specifically designed for use with most types of terrariums. One of these can be used to provide a hot spot basking area maintained at about 90 degrees Fahrenheit for your Western hognose. Be sure to get an appropriately sized heater to allow for a heat gradient-you don’t want it to heat more than one-third of the enclosure, so the snake can get away from the heat if desired-and never use medical heat pads found in pharmacies. While these may be adjustable, they can be potential fire hazards, or overheat the enclosure. Hot rocks are also to be avoided. The cooler end of the enclosure can be maintained in the high 70s.
Humidity
Western hognoses prefer an average humidity of 30-50% in their enclosure, as measured by a digital probe hygrometer with the probe place in the middle of the enclosure. To raise humidity in your snake’s enclosure, you can use a pressure sprayer to mist the habitat as needed.
Accessories and Enrichment
Decorations play an important role in your hognose snake’s enclosure as environmental enrichment. Enrichment items encourage exercise, stimulate your snake’s natural instincts, and help promote overall wellbeing. Cork rounds, cork flats, grape wood, ghost wood, magnetic ledges, and live or artificial plants work well as décor in a hognose snake terrarium. The more hiding places your snake has access to, the more likely it will be comfortable hanging out in the open where you can see it.
- Two hide boxes should be provided with one on the warm side and one on the cooler side. Make sure your snake can easily fit within and get out of this structure.
- You should provide a large water bowl big enough for your animal to soak in if they choose to.
- Adding rocks, interesting branches and changing around the hides in an enclosure can be good enrichment.
A Quick Note About Water
All living things need water, and hognose snakes are no exception. All three species need a large, heavy water dish large enough to accommodate their entire body if they feel in the mood for a soak. This water dish can also be helpful for increasing humidity if placed on the warm side of the enclosure. Change the water daily and disinfect with an animal-safe disinfectant like chlorhexidine or F10 weekly.
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There is a belief that distilled or softened water is better for reptiles than tap water. This is not true, as the lack of minerals creates osmotic imbalance within the snake’s body after ingestion. As a result, the body has to give away its own minerals and electrolytes to restore balance. Over time, this can actually lead to dehydration and malnutrition disorders, even when the snake is eating and drinking regularly. Filtered and spring water are generally safe.
Diet and Feeding
As with most snakes, the Western Hognose Snake is a carnivore, meaning their diet consists exclusively of other animals. In the wild, they primarily feed on small vertebrates, including rodents and amphibians. In captivity, it is essential to replicate this diet to meet their nutritional needs adequately.
What foods are best for a hognose snake?
Wild Western hognoses eat primarily toads, but stomach contents studies reveal that they also eat frogs, salamanders, snakes, lizards, reptile eggs, birds, mammals, and insects on occasion. Birds and mammals, however, are extremely rare.
Here are some non-rodent ideas for feeding your hognose:
- African clawed frogs
- Cane toads
- Cuban tree frogs
- Redback salamanders
- Gray treefrogs
- Axolotls
- Quail eggs
- Frozen/thawed anoles
- Dropped gecko tails
- Reptilinks
If you choose to catch wild amphibians to use as prey, beware of harvesting in areas where they may have been exposed to pesticides or herbicides, as these can poison your snake. Harvest in more woodsy, “natural” areas if possible. If you’re concerned about your snake getting parasites from wild-caught amphibians, freeze them before feeding.
Human-grade cuts of meat or bits of cooked egg can make a nice treat, but they should never be offered regularly because they’re simply not nutritious enough.
Prey Size and Type
- Appropriately Sized Mice: The main prey items for Western Hognose Snakes in captivity are appropriately sized mice. It’s crucial to ensure that the size of the prey item is proportionate to the snake’s girth. A general rule of thumb is to feed your hognose snake prey that is about the same width as the snake’s body at its widest point.
- Variety is Key: Although mice are the most commonly available feeders, hognose snakes need to eat more than just rats and mice to truly thrive. In fact, in the wild they’re toad specialists, and hognose snakes are known to have some trouble digesting prey with too much fur. Providing a variety of different prey keeps mealtime interesting and balances your snake’s nutrition.
- Frozen/Thawed vs. Live Prey: It’s best to offer frozen-thawed prey rather than live to your pet snake. This is safer for the snake and generally considered to be more humane as well. Hognose snakes aren’t constrictors like most of the snakes you’re familiar with, which means they’re not typically strong enough to wrestle with a live feeder rodent and win. For convenience and the safety of your snake, it’s best to offer frozen/thawed prey.
Feeding Schedule
The feeding frequency of a Western Hognose Snake depends on its age and size. Juvenile snakes have a higher metabolic rate and need to eat more frequently than adults. Always monitor your snake’s weight and adjust the feeding schedule accordingly. Overfeeding can lead to obesity, while underfeeding can result in malnutrition.
Designer-Morphs Western Hognose Snakes by John R. Berry recommends the following feeding schedule:
- Juveniles: food every 4-5 days
- Adults: food 1x/week
Beware of overfeeding your snake, as this causes obesity and organ damage!
Preparing the Prey
Hognose snakes rely on their sense of smell in order to help them find prey, not a heat signature. However, it has been observed that hognoses seem to respond better to warm prey items, so it’s possible that the warmth disperses the scent better.
If you are using frozen-thawed prey (recommended), thaw it out in the fridge the night before feeding day. This allows it to thaw slowly in a cold environment, which discourages bacterial growth, same as how you’re supposed to thaw frozen meat. Then about 15-30 minutes before feeding, stick the prey in a BPA-free plastic bag like a Ziploc and submerge in warm, almost hot, water. The body temperature of a mouse is similar to a human’s, so you’ll want the prey to be about 98-100°F before offering it to your snake. You can check the temperature with your temp gun.
Feeding Techniques
In the wild, Western Hognose Snakes actively hunt for their prey. In captivity, it’s essential to stimulate their natural hunting behavior to encourage feeding.
- Presenting the Prey: When feeding your Western Hognose Snake, use feeding tongs or forceps to present the prey item to them. Gently wiggle the prey to imitate movement, which can trigger the snake’s feeding response.
- Use Feeding Tweezers: Use soft-tipped feeding tweezers to reduce the risk of getting accidentally bitten when the snake strikes.
- Patience is Key: I am to approach calmly, without sneaking up on the snake. Allow your Hognose to smell, give him/her time to process, and even a form of mimicry can convert the snake from processing to food mode. Although keep in mind, all snakes are different.
- Respect Digestion Time After a successful feeding, your Western Hognose Snake will typically retreat to a warm hide to digest its meal. Avoid handling your snake for at least 24-48 hours after feeding to allow for proper digestion. Don’t handle your hognose for 24-48 hours after feeding, or else it may regurgitate.
Addressing Feeding Issues
Western Hognose snakes are notorious for being picky feeders. As long as husbandry is proper, their food strikes shouldn’t last too long. Time of year, hognose personality, husbandry set-up/temperatures, upcoming or current snake shedding are some possible reasons for food refusal. Western Hognose snakes can go many months without food, monitor husbandry and snake weight.
- Scenting: If your snake is refusing to eat, a form of mice scenting may be neccesary. My go-to is snake braining prior to scenting - poke small hole in top of head and extracting fluid. If this does not work, I try scenting after. Common scents with high success rates include: Salmon, tuna, frog legs.
- If your hognose doesn’t want to eat: Lack of appetite is a common problem with hognoses, especially Easterns and Southerns. Refer to the Health section of this guide for tips on getting a reluctant hognose to eat.
Do hognose snakes need vitamin supplements?
Although as obligate carnivores hognose snakes should get all of the nutrition they need from the animals they eat, the nutrition provided by captive-bred feeder animals can be inferior to the nutrition provided by prey that hognose snakes would consume in the wild. Some studies suggest that commercially-bred feeder rodents are deficient in crucial nutrients like vitamin D, which in turn negatively affects the health of the snakes that eat them.
There is a risk of developing nutrient deficiency over time even when you buy your prey items from seemingly high-quality breeders. So it helps to lightly dust prey items every once in a while with calcium + vitamin supplement to help fill in the gaps in your snake’s diet. Here are the best supplements we’ve found that you can use for your hognose:
- Repashy Calcium Plus LoD
- Arcadia RevitaliseD3
Due to the natural decay of certain vitamin ingredients, supplements should be replaced every 6 months.
Temperament and Handling
The Western hognose is a docile, easy-to-handle snake. While individuals may exhibit spectacular bluffing displays as mentioned previously, these are not signs of aggression. Do not bother a snake that is exhibiting bluffing behavior, so as not to cause it undue stress.
Hognose snakes very rarely bite out of defense/aggression, preferring to bluff their way out of a threatening situation. For a snake of this size, the bite itself is far from severe. However, it’s important to note that hognose snakes are rear-fanged venomous, and although their venom is not considered medically significant to humans, it can cause localized swelling and significant discomfort.
Western hognose bites are very rare, and typically occur due to a snake’s overeager feeding response. Some snakes will gently take food off hemostats, or they may prefer having food left in a quiet corner of the enclosure to eat at their leisure. Others will emerge from their enclosures ready for food with mouths open.
If a bite occurs, do not force the snake off by yanking on it, which could damage its jaws. Instead, pour a small capful of mint mouthwash onto the area the snake is biting. This is harmless to the snake and will result in it releasing its bite. Sometimes a hognose bite may lead to mild swelling at and around the bite site.
Health Considerations
- Impaction: These snakes tend to be messy eaters and are more prone to ingesting their bedding with their food. Feeding them in a separate bin from their enclosure is ideal. This can become life threatening if they cannot pass the material on their own and may require surgery.
- Respiratory Infection: This is often linked to inappropriate humidity. If your snake is wheezing, open mouth breathing, yawning frequently or bubbling by the nose it should be brought to a veterinarian.
- Poor appetite: Especially when young western hognose snakes can be particular about their food. If the ideas listed in the feeding section above are not successful or if you are noticing other signs of illness it is time to bring your pet to a veterinarian.
- Stomatitis: Western Hognose snakes have very fragile teeth and gums. They are more prone to irritation and trauma to these areas and can develop infections.