Hi looking for some advice. I’ve got a three month old female western hognose.
12.9grams, fed one pinkie every 5 days. Hot end of tank set to 29c. She’s handled daily with the acception of the 48hr post feed window. The issue having is biting. She doesn’t hood up or hiss or bluff she just waits till she’s on my hand and bites EVERY time she’s handled. I unhook her and pick her back up so she doesn’t think “oh if I bite they will put me down” in a bid to teach her I’m not going to hurt her. I make sure I have no food smells on my hands ect I then set her back and try again a few hours later but I’m just not getting any where. Any advice?
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Sounds like a feeding response, some hognoses can be pretty infamous for trying to eat anything and everything, humans included. I don’t know if you already do this, but washing your hands thoroughly followed by using a hand sanitizer can really help remove any lingering scents. Another option is latex/nitrile, or other thin gloves. On top of that, I’d consider observing and interacting with her a bit before you take her out of the enclosure, to make it clear that it is not feeding time. You can gently touch her sides, use a small snake hook or other object if you don’t want your fingers too close. Do this until she seems comfortable, then try taking her out by scooping from below. Some folks suggest tap training, though I haven’t tried it with hognoses.
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Yeah I do all that. Someone else suggested trying two pinkies each feed as she seams too small to up the rodent size but I wasn’t sure
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I really wouldn’t suggest offering two feeders at her size, hognoses aren’t really meant to eat rodents (in the wild they primarily eat amphibians) and you can grow them too quickly and cause health issues down the line. Snakes will continue to eat even if they’ve already been fed, a feeding response doesn’t necessarily correlate to the actual need for food.
What you can try is mixing up what food items you offer to give a better variety and more enrichment. You can take a look at this post for great suggestions of alternative food items and how to prepare them:
I’ll also ask @ballornothing if he may have some suggestions for you?
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Thanks for that it’s tricky in the uk to find alternatives
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You should be able to find most of those items in the UK. If you don’t know any local places, as simple as it sounds, sometimes just googling “chicken hearts near me” can find you a supplier. For fish, you can use things like salmon and tilapia, which are common in grocery stores. If you have a local butcher, fishmonger, or ethnic grocer, those are some the best places to find alternate foods.
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That’s really obvious I feel stupid now lol
So do you think a varied diet may help with the biting because she is eating fine on pinkies as I say every she not remotely cage defensive jus chomps down on me during handling lol
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It’s nothing to feel stupid about, sometimes the answers are so simple they get overlooked, we all do it. I don’t know if it will help, it’s something you can consider trying if nothing else works. I think what it’s really going to be is observing her, learning her body language, and trying to break her of thinking you are food. Sometimes it works, sometimes you just have a hoggie that needs handling with care. It’s also possible that as she grows, she’ll grow out of it.
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Thankyou I had a very excited 7 year old that now won’t go anywhere near her so I’m keen to train her and my fingers are significantly bigger lol
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Honestly, hogs (and CalKings and Aspidites) are very much like toddlers - they explore the world by trying to put EVERYTHING in their mouths. Some of them are just insanely enthusiastic with this approach:
Waterbowl? 
Hide? Side of tub? Themself? Forceps? My hand? Your hand? Actual water while it is being poured into the bowl? Reflections? Paper towels?
They are also ridiculously Pavlovian - once they figure out that you are the “food bringer” then every time they see you they think it is food time. We have one that will literally put his face against the tub and act like he is going to chew his way through if he can see you anywhere in the room. And if you are not careful when you open the tub he will happily throw himself out, drop the 1.3m to the floor and immediately start trying to eat the carpet
You can try an break them by tapping them on the nose with a hook whenever you go into the cage and are not feeding. Sometimes that works. But sometimes it does not
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