I need help with my hognose itself too. I don’t know if its stressed or not.
I got my hognose on May 10. I started handling him 2 days after. He curls his tail around my finger whenever I hold him. But at the pet store he was very scared, he didn’t hiss but was trying to run away. Yesterday I held him longer and he actually was laying against me. I know that’s not affection but it means a lot to me. He eats every Friday but he didn’t eat on the first Friday I had him. I tried leaving the pinkie in there for 2 nights but it was still there. I hope he’s not stressed. He’s been very active recently, slithering over everything. But he kept on going past the pinkie.This is my first hognose but I have a leopard gecko. I believe their behavior is alike. When I first got my leopard gecko she was a baby and ran when I moved fast. Now she sleeps against me and runs to me when she’s scared.
I don’t know if my scale is right or not but it said that it weighed 7 grams. I put it in a little cup and put the hognose snake in the cup over the kitchen scale. The scale is kind of weird though. Like when I put it on a hard floor it’ll be 3 grams before anything is on it. I forgot the grams of the cup but when I put the hognose in I subtracted the 3 grams and the cup grams. Then I got 7.
I tried to measure the hognose snake but it kept on moving. So all I know is that its less the 8 inches.
You do not want to be handling them so soon, ideally you should avoid handling until they’ve taken 2 meals readily. Handling can definitely stress them out when they are in a new environment and haven’t had any time at all to just relax and settle.
A good way I can explain this is imagine they are like extremely introverted people, not trying to anthropomorphize at all- just giving an example, new environments are scary, new people are scary especially if they haven’t been socialized, everything new will take time for them to adjust to.
You should wait at least 5 days before offering their first meal home.
If refused, meals should only be offered every 5-7 days. Offering every day will stress them out. Every 5 days how often a baby Hognose snake should be eating anyway so its not going to be too different from that they are used to.
At 7 grams and less than 8 inches that is a little one, do you have a photo of them to share? Baby Hognose snakes are notoriously picky eaters, and the immediate handling most likely attributed to the refusal.
Also I do not reccomend leaving pinky mice out for any longer than a few hours… Decomposition takes place very quickly in such a little thing, especially in a warm enclosure, and if your Hoggie eats a decaying mouse it might make them very ill.
How large is the enclosure? There may be too much space for the Hoggie to easily search out the pinky, you could try tong-feeding if you haven’t already to directly offer them the pinky.
If direct offering doesn’t work, on your next attempt you could leave them in a small container like a small tupperware box with holes poked in it for air where the snake will be in constant contact with the mouse. Covering the container with a blanket or towel will help prevent distractions. Put the container in a calm still environment for about 15-30 minutes and check up on your snake. I also hear the same thing works with paper bags, just make sure your little one can’t escape!
I’d say it’s best not to handle a young snake too often when it’s still so small. To be honest, I rarely take my snakes out just to hold them—whether they’re babies or fully grown. I’ve always felt that being held by a person is never really a relaxing experience for a snake; it puts them under stress. Just watching them go about their day is already rewarding enough. So you might want to try simply leaving it alone to settle in. Once it’s completely relaxed and used to its surroundings, then see if it’ll take the pinky.
This enclosure is nice but it’s way too bare for a baby hognose, especially one as small as this one. You need to add another very small hide or 2 somewhere and a bunch of clutter like fake foliage and maybe some cork bare. Hogs need to feel safe enough to eat, especially as babies. All snakes need to feel secure enough to attempt to eat in fact.
And as mentioned, do not handle your snake until it is eating for you consistently, at least 4 or 5 times in a row. Of course you still need to maintain fresh water for it. Also offer food at least no more than every 5 days so as not to stress it out.
Thank you so much to everyone that replied!
About leaving the pinky mice out, my friend with a ball python told me that they don’t spoil for a week. I knew that was way too long so I just left it for one day. Thank you so much for replying. It’s really helpful. Also does the tail curling around my finger mean anything?
Here’s a picture of the hognose-
He’s in a 10 gallon.
Yea I was actually planning on getting more stuff for him soon. I have a big hammock that I got from a kit but I don’t think there’s enough room to fit it since it’s a 10 gallon tank.
Thats very concerning I’ll be honest, by a full week even large animals are pretty rotten if they aren’t in freezing conditions 
I couldn’t imagine the odor.
Its nothing significant if thats what you’re wondering. The little one could just be trying to secure itself to your hand from feeling off-balance, Hognoses are a bit awkward to handle at least in my experience because they really aren’t used to not being on solid ground.
Thank you @cmsreptiles! This is probably like my 4th time saying thank you but the information that you’re giving Is really helpful. And I guess I really can’t tell when he’s stressed or not. I thought that he wasn’t stressed since he wasn’t hissing, bluffing, or playing dead. Last question though. Maybe. At what age/weight should I probe him? I keep on saying “him” but I really don’t know his gender. I sent pictures of the hognose’s underside to a breeder of hognose snakes and he said female but I really wanna make sure. A lot of people are saying female.
Fake plants, hides and cork bark would be much better than a hammock. Hogs don’t climb, they burrow mostly….
Holy cow! It’s a wonder that this friend’s ball python is still alive with that kind of thinking! 