I have a male western hognose, about 3-4 years old now, and he typically goes off food every winter. So i wasnt to concerned when he did that again this year. However he did go off a little earlier than he typically does and still has not ate. This is the longest he’s ever gone without eating. (It’s probably been 6 months) I weigh him consistently and he hasn’t lost much (less than 10% still), he doesn’t appear to be dehydrated, no signs of illness that I can detect. Acting normal. Warm side has basking of 93ish and ambient ranges from mid 80s to mid 70s. Humidity is average of 35 ish and he does have a humid hide that I see him go in. I have tried everything. He typically eats off tongs, but I’ve left it in overnight, I’ve tried reptilinks, I’ve tried scenting with frog juice, I’ve tried a smaller feeder, I tried a baby rat instead of mouse, literally everything I can think. Has anyone had a hognose go this long without food?
Have you tried dipping the feeder in raw quail or chicken egg? This one occasionally works for picky hoggies. You can also try raw salmon, sometimes they will take that. Longest I had one go was four months, however his hunger strike was due to an underlying issue that wasn’t immediately apparent.
He does not seem dehydrated
I have not tried that. I definitely will give that a try
And can I ask what his underlying condition was?
He ended up having kidney cancer. After a while he lost more weight and had a lump in the lower 3rd of his body. Took him in to a vet who did the diagnosis and I chose to euthanize as there weren’t any good options. He was, at that time, about 15 months old.
I’m so sorry. That’s awful
It really sucked, I’d only had him myself for about five months in total. As for yours, he could just be particularly stubborn and went from a brumation fast into a breeding season fast and will pick up eating again soon.
Do you know roughly when the breeding season ends? If he ends up losing 10% or more of his weight I’ll take him to the vet I just don’t want to put stress on him when he already isn’t eating. Especially since this is what hognose do unfortunately
End of this month-ish, though it’s not a rule. As long as he’s not losing significant weight, just keep trying to feed every so often.
I’ve had two males go on 5ish month fasts. They did the same thing, went off feeding in winter and continued the fast through breeding season. I tried everything under the sun and none of it worked. I just had to wait them out. The one that fasted last year I did end up giving a couple tube feeds simply because he dropped more weight than I was comfortable with.
Oh I am so sorry I misread your post! Apologies and my bad! 
I hope it doesn’t get that far for me. Did you tube feed or have a vet do it
My vet taught me. But this was only because he lost so much weight. Generally a healthy snake can go a few months without eating if they are still maintaining weight.
If he refuses food seasonally, then his refusal isn’t due to him disputing the smell/taste of the prey that’s offered. So scenting and changing prey types isn’t necessarily the right idea, and is a little like a well intentioned grandparent forcing food on a kid who just isn’t hungry. If anything, it could get him hooked back on some taste that’s more “normal” to his hard wired natural diet.
A herp that has a tendency to seasonally fast, that is also a species for which brumation is natural, might best be brumated. The snake apparently is following its natural seasonal cycles; keeping it in normal summer conditions isn’t likely helping. Hogs that get a good solid brumation (I do 3 months at <50F) can be expected to wake up hungry (with the exception of some males that will wait until they get their breeding activity out of the way).
I personally would brumate him next winter and see how that works. Getting a vet check might not be a bad idea, but keep in mind that many vets give pretty bad advice on husbandry (since they only know what they’ve read about the husbandry of virtually every herp species), and are best consulted only for medical advice (about which they’re of course very much more knowledgeable than casual herpetoculturists).
Long term, it might also be valuable to make sure the snake isn’t being overfed during the times he’s actively feeding. Overfed (either overall, or in terms of individual meal sizes) snakes have a greater tendency to be irregular in their feeding schedules.
I will try to brumate next year with them and see if that helps. I wasn’t concerned at first since he always does this but he’s just never gone this long is why I am starting to worry slightly. I do like my exotic vet and not opposed to taking him when I feel like I need to, I just don’t want to yet because I honestly don’t think there’s anything they can do. And since he hasn’t lost substantial weight I don’t see it necessary just yet. I will try to brumate next year and see if I have better luck. Do you have tips on brumating? I am familiar with the concept but personally have never done it.
I do this: stop feeding at least 2 weeks before I intend to drop temps. Then after that two week forced fast I shut off the heat in the enclosure for a week or so (so, just running at room temp, ~70F or so).
I weigh the snake at this point, and note that weight. Then I put the snake into a very secure tub with ventilation holes, with some of their regular substrate (aspen chips), one hide and a small water bowl. I put that tub into a cool room in my basement that runs roughly in the high 40sF in the winter.
I have a remote thermometer (with the readout in a prominent place in my reptile room) in there so that I can check the temp daily. Every two weeks (or so) I check the snake and refill the water. I leave them there for about three months.
After that time, I bring the tub into the reptile room for a couple days at room temp to wake up. Then I weigh the snake, and then put it back into its regular enclosure with the heat off for a week or so. Then I return the heat to normal, and after a week or so (or when the snake acts hungry) I offer food as usual.
If the before and after weight differ by much (maybe 10%? Sometimes they only lose a couple grams), or the snake looks off, I try to troubleshoot what the cause might have been – too high temps, ran out of water, etc. I also try to keep an extra close eye on them for the first few weeks out of brumation, since that’s when an existing subclinical issue is more likely to become symptomatic.
Perfect, thank you!