So I’m on the verge of getting a western hognose. They’re a snake I’ve wanted to get for quite a while now, and it’s either time for me to get a new snake for my ball python breeding plans, or add a new snake to my collection.
So let’s hear it, convince me to, or convince me not to! Pictures help, maybe some stories/experiences about how raising them has gone for you?
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As long as it will EAT CONSISTENTLY! Lol! I have a 2 year male old that has been hit or miss ever since I got him! I would vote for a female if you should decide to get one……
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You asked for pictures so buckle up! (I don’t know how to do the rotating picture thing, I’m sorry!)
First up are my five adults, starting with my bestest boy Draco.
My sub-adult and babies
And lastly some baby pictures from my first clutch last year
Now I am certainly biased because I love my hogs, but I think they are a very fun species. They are definitely more difficult to keep feeding consistently as compared to a king or corn. I struggled a lot the first couple years of owning but in my experience the issues I was having came down to husbandry or breeding season for the males. Juveniles can be difficult, but again the majority of feeding problems are temperature or clutter related. Hogs like to have a lot of clutter to feel secure. As @caron said females do tend to be more reliable, but they do get larger than males. Don’t know if that makes a difference for you.
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Looks like it’s my time! I’ve owned hognoses for a little bit over a year now, and they are the best thing ever to happen to me. They are voracious eaters, they are quite possibly the cutest snake in existence, they are extremely hardy, and most importantly, they are extremely personable. Every hognose I’ve met has had a completely different personality. My male hognose, Sandia, is a shy snake who hides away most of the day and tries to tag you if you get within 5 feet of him. My female on the other hand roams around her enclosure all day and is so calm that you could pet her head and she wouldn’t try to back off or strike. Baby hognoses are notoriously picky eaters, but once you have them eating, they will eat for life. They’re not at all like BPs who constantly go on and off of food. You haven’t experienced true joy until you’ve seen a hognose come right up to the front of the enclosure at the scent of a rat and then gently pull it off the tongs. Hognoses really are one of the most rewarding species to care for, and owning one will bring you near infinite joy. As stated above, they don’t do well in bland enclosures. They absolutely thrive in cluttered environments. They also need to have at least one side of their enclosure be in the low 90s or they will starve themselves. As long as you have the conditions dialed in though, owning a hognose is nothing but great.
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The cutest least dangerous venomous snake known
What’s more to love, I’m a vote for do it 
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and @garciademueller so I know I have the heat right. What confuses/frustrates me is that I had a male hoggie a few years ago that was in a glass tank on reptile carpet with 2 hides and that’s it. He would eat all day every day if you let him. He is now a beloved snake in a school classroom.
The one I have now is totally opposite! 
. So when you guys say clutter exactly what do you mean? I am thinking about going back to reptile carpet and glass because I am at my wit’s end! Lol:rage:
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We mean stuff like branches, leaf litter, real or fake plants, rocks, stuff like that.
Something sorta akin to this
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Glass or tub and what substrate?
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I am wholly team “get a hoggie!” as I’ve got three of the hilarious little drama queens and plan for more. This is my girl Togepi, she always comes up to say hello when I open her bin:
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Ideally PVC, but hognoses will also do well with tub and glass. Use either aspen or a topsoil sand mix.
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Ok thank you! 
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Can you tell that I like hognoses 
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There is nothing wrong with that! They are like potato chips you can’t have just one. Which is about the only con to owning them 
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This thread is helping me reevaluate my idea of getting a hognose 
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Reevaluate meaning you are getting one right?! 
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So I was on MM and there was a girl hognose that I was just captivated by the only problem was that she was a super Yeti lol . Maybe one day 
.
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Oh the pain of window shopping on MM 
. Maybe one day they will be a tiny bit more affordable.
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What’s the genetics on the 3rd one pictured? These pictures are what I needed. Well, what I wanted, not what my wallet needed lol
The amount of happiness in her eyes. Definitely enough said!
See I didn’t know this. I love my ball pythons but usually they’re all the same, apart from a few breeder females that want to eat me alive daily.
So getting one from a breeder that has consistently eaten, you should be good to go?
Ideally I’ll keep one in my rack with my BP’s, I may need to do some modifications to make sure they get to that hotspot though, I’ve got a room right now I heat to 82-84 ambient.
I didn’t think anyone would tell me no, now I just need to find the right one!
Do yours do the stereotypical faking being dead that I’ve seen many pics of?
One of the biggest reasons I haven’t gotten one…. I know my addictive personality will spiral that from 1 to 3 to 5…. And then next thing you know I’ll have the same number as I do ball pythons!
Another problem, my wallet doesn’t always get along with my taste! It’s not fair lol
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