Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[gsrawlinson]

Hi
I have had a female hognose for some time now over 1 year and normally eats like a pig, since about the first week in november she has just stopped eating all together.

Normally she will sense the mouse is there and go to it straight away to eat, this snake is no way shy or anything and will pretty much eat out of my hands. Now she will just go up to the mouse and stare at it and eventually move away.

The same thing happened last year around november. But this year is worse i dunno what to do as she is losing weight - quite a lot. I dunno is there anything that can help what are my options?

Is it just a seasonal thing for snakes to lose weight?

[Jezz]

You know something? My old hog was exactly the same.
Fed out of my hands really confidently, then all it would do would attack it when it stopped feeding. I had sold her, and I was thinking it was the move that put it off its feed, but she fed straight away when i got her so i dunno what happened there.
I think this was around october she stopped feeding, I have no idea why they do it, but I'm thinking maybe its the change in season..

I would try all the usual methods of getting snakes to feed, and see how it goes, let us know.
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x.Jessie.x

2.1.0 Python Regius
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator
0.0.1 Lampropeltis getulus californiae
1.0.0 Pantherophis guttata guttata
0.1.0 Eublepharis macularius
0.1.0 Testudo hermanni
0.1.0 Grammostola rosea

[Lynne]

my male is the same just now. but if yours is losing a lot of weight, i would keep an eye for next couple of weeks and if its still loing weight get it checked over.
mines has missed last 5 feeds, comes out, sniffs around then goes back to what he was doing.
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[mark]

its just the time of year lots of snakes go off feed this time of year they tend to have other things on there mind but as said above keep record of the weight over the next couple of months and if shes losing it fast get it to the vets worse case it could be an internal parrasite but dont worry yet thats worse case its normally just down to time of year
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boas and burms

[gsrawlinson]

thanks for the advise

she is not really very thin or anything i guess im just used to seeing her so big because she would eat so much earlier in the year.

I will have to monitor the weight though.

Do you mean if she keeps losing weight take her to a vet? What could they do realistically?

Many thanks

[Lynne]

well, they will give you something for parasites, examine her and make sure there is nothing they can see that you couldnt, remember they are trained to pick up the slightest wee things. if worst comes to worst, which i dont expect it will, they will show you how to assist or tube feed. but that would be if your hoggy was starving herself past the point of no return. as everyone elses hoggies have stopped eating, its probably a seasonal things.
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[Mandie]

My hoggies are younger than yours and the males haven't eaten for about 5 wks now but non are losing weight so I'm not going to worry about them. The females are feeding about once a mth or once every 3 wks so not their normal pig out every 5 days by any stretch lol.


You can use Panacur 2% as a wormer but to be honest she sounds ok just keep weighing her as long as she's not losing I wouldn't worry too much.
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Hognose
Royals
Bearded GG Pastel Hypo's

[quasimodo]

Hognoses need to brumate during the Winter months. That is why they do not eat, they want to sleep. They should be given 10 - 12 weeks in cool temps, quiet and dark. Just leave water with them as they do not completely hibernate. Brumation is a means of surviving the Winter in the regions that they come from, and it also helps to prepare their bodies for the coming breeding season in the Spring.

Look on the web for more info. Hope that this helps.
Sue

[ian14]

Hi,

I have exactly the same and fully agree with the last post.
This started with a HATCHLING male which refused all food - on advise from a trusted dealer, I hibernated him for just one month. After warming up, he fed like a pig!!
This year, he did exactly the same.
My second male, who fed through the winter last year, also stopped feeding this winter, so again he is being hibernated. Fortunately my female is feeding still though so will be ready to breed in the spring.

Don't forget, hoggies come from as far north as canada. In the natural habitat, they would hibernate, as would all North American species, hatchling or adult. In many cases, the hatchlings hibernate and do not have their first feed until the following spring. It is a perfectly normal situation, but one I have found only affects hatchling hoggies.

[Lynne]

i think rosy boas are the same ian. the hatchlings go into a semi sleep then feed when they come out of it.
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