Snake Aggressive Hognose

I’d suggest only going into her tub/tank for water changes, poop checks, and feeding if she will eat for a few weeks. Or at least until you find a shed. My dude loved to bury when he shed and so I’d find a “new snake” and no shed at first.

Hoggies take forever to shed (compared to a ball python). They’re in the process long before their eyes ever go blue.

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Right now she’s in her tub with paper towels since I had a mite scare and working on that so I should find it right off. But will do, only necessities for a little bit.

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Good luck with the mite scare! Had my own a couple months ago and thankfully it was only 3 snakes it got to before I nipped it in the bud.

I only found one on one snake, treating everyone tho is a pain. Gonna have to get them all out again 2 days after they eat to spray again :roll_eyes:

I wouldn’t go through the effort of treating everyone if you’ve only seen one snake infected with a single mite. Seperate that snake, treat them, treat tub, and then do a thorough general clean and treat of other tubs. That’s all I did. You catch it early it’s not so bad.

I found one that one, but got 3 others from the same person that are scattered around the whole rack. I feel better treating everyone since it’s not too much more work. Better to be safe than sorry :sweat_smile:. During and 2 weeks after a show I got 6 snakes so might as well lol

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Hi. I was own Instagram today and saw a post today (1.13.20) by snake.charmed that showed a Hognose acting jumpy due to shedding. I wondered if this might be similar to what you are seeing. Its a long shot, but may be worth a look.

@katescout , it is kinda similar but you can definitely tell that one’s eyes were blue. I’ll definitely be looking for a shed!

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Update: no shed but her twitchyness has gotten worse. It’s like she’s blind running into walls and scared being touched. I was weighing her and as she was going around the edges she twitched like she’d been shocked as she moved (not bumping walls, just head up slightly going straight forward). I have no idea what is going on with her :persevere:. I wish I could add the video of her, it might help

:frowning: sorry Blue…that sounds concerning. Hope someone can give you some answers

I’m sure I’m almost as distressed as her about it! She can’t be still, just super twitchy, when I opened her box to check on her she jumped so bad she hit her head on the side of the tub and started hissing and twitching some more

Might be time to take her to a vet. Are you sure she can see? Blind snakes do constatly move and sudden blindness might mean something weird/bad…?

Best snake vet used to have ball pythons and never seen a Hognose in person until I had her sexed. I can send him the video and see what he thinks

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I bet it’s just shedding but definitely ring a vet if you are concerned.

It takes Hognose weeks to shed from start to finish. They don’t go blue for a week or two after the process starts. It’s much, much different than a ball python.

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Sent vet the video and spill about her behavior. He said to just bathe her and try to get her to shed.

Edit: she seems to be doing better in the bath! Not twitching too bad, much calmer. She did drink some even though she has constant fresh water. For the bath I just used an empty tub in a rack, put 91.3° water in it, put her in, and the racks heat tape is keeping it right about 89.7.

Hi! Gf of Jeff from JMG Reptile here. I work with his hogs and have many of my own. Sometimes hognose can become very food aggressive in captivity. And by food aggressive I mean will fling and try to eat anything…yes, anything. Your hand, if they’re in a rack - the plastic on the rack, sometimes even nipping themselves in their frenzy. One of my males once chomped me and as soon as I got him off he took a hold of my blanket. :expressionless: As long as she’s eating well she’s fine. They won’t always even necessarily be hungry when like this, just have the “urge” to eat. Just watch your fingers with her. This behavior won’t necessarily last. If she does manage to chomp on you move her quickly by lifting up on her rostral scale. (the pointy tip of her snoot) If she’s removed before about 20 seconds you should have little to no swelling. If it does occur it will be uncomfortable for about a day and you should take an anti-inflammatory. (this is why Benadryl is often recommended)

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@kittyblanket , I am almost certain it’s not a food response as she’s very gentle about it and just opens her mouth for it like she did last night. If she bit me it is good to know that you can get them off. Acting as she is I’d be more concerned with a scared bite from her, not food

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Update: no shed, but she seems back to her normal self. Friendly as can be, calm, no twitching. It’s like it never happened. She has the vet totally confused how she went from twitching so bad to nothing in 24 hours. I always check all the snakes before I go to bed so one night she was twitching, the next she was 100% back to normal. Been eating like she should, never hesitated, now she is burrowing, thermoregulating, and sleeping a lot. I’m glad she’s back to herself, but definitely going to keep an eye out for a shed!

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