no. that isn’t how it goes. once they get used to handling, they see humans as safe and it will remember that.
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So the correct solution is to leave it alone for 2 - 3 weeks, and then start getting them used to the hand? Do I understand correctly?
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Yep. Just make sure to do tons of research before buying. I recommend checking out reptifiles and watching a bunch of YouTube videos about them to make sure that you know everything you can about them
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As @logar said, it doesn’t really work that way. Either your hoggie will be naturally calm and/or was already socialized by the breeder, in which case leaving them alone for a couple weeks won’t make any difference, or they’ll be a little fearful and defensive…in which case, leaving them alone to get comfortable in their surroundings will only help once you do start handling them.
With a new snake, your first priority is to let them decompress and get them eating for you. Once you’ve got that squared away, you can start handling and socializing them. And once a snake is socialized and “tame,” you don’t need to handle them every day to keep them that way. Reptiles have better memories than most people realize, so once they’ve learned that humans are safe and that getting picked up doesn’t mean they’re about to get eaten, they’re not going to forget that all that quickly.
I usually handle my “friendly” snakes 3-4 times a week. And that’s mainly just because I really enjoy handling and interacting with them, not because they’re going to become “untame” if I handle them less frequently. At least, that’s been my experience.
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Cut to the chase. The concept of leaving the hognose alone for a couple of weeks is to not stress it with handling and to make it feel comfortable in the new environment so it will eat.
Two weeks is plenty of time. However you want it to eat consistently. Until that happens minimal handling is a good idea. Getting a hognose to eat can be tricky but not always.
Also a baby hog should be started out in a bin no larger than a 6 to 8 qt. Large enclosures can add to or create stress, as baby hogs coming from breeders are housed in small breeder tubs.
This is my experience. The above will NOT affect handleability.
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Well said.
Completely unrelated but what happened to your profile picture? I miss seeing your old boa 
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I was wondering the same thing. And missing the boa. 
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@cleoskingdom This is incredibly helpful!! Thank you so much. I wish I would have read this first thing. How long should you wait if you made the mistake of holding them right after you got them home and fed/ messed with them too soon? (The more information the better please).
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Thanks for the post. It’s good to know I have been doing things right so far 
I just have two questions:
- I got my hognose yesterday (14.09.24) and was told by the breeder that she was fed the day before on 13.09.24. She is two months old. Should I wait about 5 days (so on 18.09.) to offer food again?
- Should I leave a pinkie in her enclosure for her even when she’s burrowed?
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I recently got a hognose from my local reptile/amphibian/invertebrate shop (Very reliable, very helpful). My new western hognose has not had a successful feeding since 12/19/2024. She shed on 1/2/2025, but she looks like she has some loose skin. I waited 72 hours from the time I got her to offer her a pinky but she didn’t seem interested. The guy at the shop insisted that she be in a 10 gallon tank (for gradient reasons, only a heating pad, no light, 3-5 inches of aspen bedding substrate), but, as you have mentioned above, I’ve always used a 5 gallon until I am certain they’re a year old. Is it okay to move her to a 5 gallon with a 25W bulb? That is what I had my now-three year old hognose male in when he was her size…
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She may be shedding so I would leave her alone for a few days at least. The way you have her set up sounds fine to me for the most part. However I would add more “stuff” to her tank like hides, empty toilet paper rolls, fake greenery etc to make her feel more secure. She definitely Does Not need a light. But hogs do need uth around 88-90 degrees on hot side.
Also you could give her a small humid hide box in case she has trouble shedding. In my opinion a 5 gallon tank is perfect for a baby hog at first. If she doesn’t eat in a couple more weeks and shedding isn’t involved then I would put her in the 5 gallon.
I have owned several hogs and they all had different eating habits from super finicky to eat all day long out in the open. Hope you have the latter!
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If she has loose skin still visible after beginning to shed on 02 Jan, she is having trouble. She should have gotten all of the old skin off by now. Where is this skin? Did she get all of the old skin off her face? How about her tail tip?
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