New baby hognose not eating...tips?

[Eggplant]

100-107F is too high. I think I mentioned this but I used a UTH when I first got my hognose and even with a thermostat and repticarpet thing, the UTH damaged my hog's belly scales (confirmed by vet ). So I switched to overhead heating.

If you're going to stick with the UTH you definitely need to get that repticarpet thing or something that goes between the hot glass and aspen (that your hog cant get under) + a rheostat or thermostat.

To my knowledge, snakes can only tell if something is warmer or colder than them (or something like that; no snake expert by any means..). They will not feel it if something is burning them. I heard that is why a lot of snakes got severely burned by heated rocks and what not. So having a overheating UTH is definitely a issue, especially with animals that like to burrow like hognoses. I dont know if ~105 is enough to burn but from my experience with my snakie it is definitely enough to cause scale damage.

[lupegirl8]

UPDATE: So I tried feeding her on Tuesday. I know you guys said to wait longer than that, but she seemed hungry. She was out and about (not hiding), looking up, and flicking her tongue. She seemed to be looking for food (behaving similarly to my girlfriend's ball python when she is hungry). So I attempted to feed her a pinkie in the tank. She seemed interested and struck at it several times with her mouth closed. In between strikes she didn't run away despite lots of chances to do so. She just kept mock striking it. Thinking she was interested I left it inside her hollow log (a favorite hiding spot) and left it there overnight and for most of the following day. I was SURE she was going to eat it. But still nothing.

At what point do I need to consider taking her to the vet?

[lupegirl8]

Also she weighed exactly 10 grams when I got her and now weighs about 9.1 grams after two weeks of not eating.

[Humble308]

Try scenting with some canned tuna Mine will at times hiss and strike at unscented pinkies, scenting the next day and she eats like a pig. You've got to remember that mice are not their natural prey...or at least not their main diet. Sometimes it's how you present the feeder as well. I started to notice I was holding pinkies right over her head which of course freaked her out, but she takes a few sniffs and lunges for it when it's a bit in front of her.

Let her acclimate. Are you handling the animal to weigh it? If so then you're sort of taking steps backwards. 4 days isn't very long, some folks let their snakes acclimate for 2 weeks.

All the best, hopefully she eats for you soon.

[lupegirl8]

I've only weighed her about three times and this last time I only weighed her after she was already all worked up and stressed from a failed feeding attempt (puffed up, curled up, hissing at me and the pinkie). I figured if she was already freaked out I might as well check to make sure she wasn't losing too much weight (it only took a minute). Honestly she seems much more stressed by the appearance of a pinkie on tongs than she does by being handled.

She hasn't been quite as active these last few days. She didn't slither as vigorously to escape the dish I put her in on the scale and she spends most of her time hidden in the plant above her warm spot.

Honestly I wouldn't be so worried if she wasn't so little. I know adults can go up to a year without eating, but with babies there's less room for error in terms of how much weight they can safely lose.

I saw someone post on another forum that even neonate hoggies can go up to 5 months without eating. Is that true?

[Eggplant]

Seriously just don't bother her *at all* for a week and then try to feed her. Don't even take her out to weigh. If the guy at the shop didn't lie to you, her issue is not about eating pinkies.

She's probably just stressed out because of being in a new place/ getting handled or both. It's that or a husbandry/ pinky thawing/ heating issue, which, I mean, hognoses are pretty easy to care for and actually not very picky about food once they decide to eat so probably not that.

I know a couple of people who just got snakes and they keep telling me how their snake is not eating and stuff and they keep handling their snakes like everyday. I mean.. what can you expect? Snakes don't express emotions (or maybe even have them, idk) the same way humans do. If they were eating before but not anymore, obviously there's an issue. Either way, it's DEFINITELY NOT going to hurt your snake by not touching it for a little while.

If it still doesn't work out in like 2 more weeks (I'd say tops) just send her back to the shop and I'm pretty confident she'll be fine there after a bit. I don't think taking her to the vet will do your snake any good. It'll just stress her out more and unless she has an actual issue (like a RI) I don't think the vet can do much about her not eating (unless they try to force feed her -which in this case shouldn't be necessary or productive).

[Georgia]

My snake did that as soon as I got him. Put the snake in a small clear tub. Put in closet for 5-7 days without opening it. Cut a cereal box in half as a hide. It will eat then. Of course have some water in there. Don't worry about changing it.

[Georgia]

Or you can order some baby toads

[lupegirl8]

I feel like you guys are getting the impression that I'm handling/weighing my snake almost every day. I'm NOT. I've weighed her four times since I've had her. The last three times were only RIGHT after failed feeding attempts when she was already defensive, puffed up, and freaked out (ie already stressed). She actually calmed down when I took her out to weigh her (not saying she wasn't stressed, but she definitely wasn't as defensive as she was with the pinkie) and it took less than two minutes. The scale was next to her tank and it was snake out, on the scale, read scale, snake back in.

I promise I am not the person who knows nothing about reptiles and thinks their snake is a puppy dog that "wants" to be taken out to play. I've kept spotted turtles for years, worked at a reptile shelter, done field work on wild herps (including western hognose), and relocated hot snakes. I'm certainly not saying that means I know everything about snakes, this is my first experience with owning one, but I'm not coming from a place of total ignorance about snake behavior.

I talked to my vet and he said not to worry until she's lost 20% of her body weight (she's lost about 10% now). He said at that point tube feeding may be necessary. Hopefully it doesn't come to that (if it does I think I'll bring her in to the vet since I haven't tube fed before and would like to be shown in person how to do it the first time). I think I will take your advice and not have my roommate offer food while I'm gone.

Right now the snake is in a box with a brained, tuna-scented pinkie that is cut and half (and some warmed up tuna just in case she would rather eat fish for some reason). She's been in there overnight and I'm going to leave her in there all day today too. My fingers are crossed.

[Bandit]

I know I'm kind of late on this and a lot of good points have already been brought up. I agree with leaving her alone for a week or so...no handling, weighing, attempting to feed, etc. Some snakes just take longer to get settled than others. When she becomes comfortable and gets hungry, she'll eat. I wouldn't worry about it too much for now, just give it a little more time and then see how she reacts to food.

[Albert Clark]

Originally Posted by lupegirl8

@Albert Clark
I've had her under a light since I got her. At first it was a heat lamp before I had the under tank heater and now it's a regular fluorescent lightbulb that doesn't put out any heat. So, yes, she is in my closet, but she has not been in darkness (other than at nighttime obvious).

What temps are you referring to when you say they are quite high? Are you referring to the warm side temps, the cool side temps, or the temperature right up against the glass? If I turn down the heat then the only place in the tank that will be a good hot spot temperature (90-92) will be right up against the glass on the bottom of the tank. Right now it's the proper temperature on top of the aspen and under the first few layers of aspen. She will only be experiencing 100 degrees if she gets under ALL the aspen (and there's a pretty thick layer) and lays right on the bottom of the tank in one small area.

Hey lupegirl8, sorry u r still having the feeding issue with ur hoggie. I was referring to the hot spot on the glass as being the area of too high of a temperature. At 100f that is dangerously high and remember that glass acts like a magnifier of heat in small areas. Your hoggie is very capable of burrowing under aspen layers towards that hot spot. IMO,i would purchase a small thermostat or rheostat and let that be one less thing I have to worry about. Remember also that all snakes are temperature and seasonal driven. They take most of their cues in behavior from external temperatures. If a snake is uncomfortable bc the temps are too high he wont eat and vice versa if its too cold he wont eat bc he will think its time to hibernate. By controlling the temps in a safe zone you can rule out the temperature as the reason for a non feeder. Stay in peace and not pieces. Good luck.

[lupegirl8]

The thing that kills me is that she ACTS like she's hungry. She roams the tank with her tongue flicking like she's looking for food. When I come over she looks up eagerly as though expecting to be fed. She often approaches the pinkie and even puts her mouth against it and licks it like she is thinking about eating it.

Yesterday I tried to tong feed with the light off. She didn't hiss at the pinkie initially like she usually does. She came toward it calmly, put her nose against it (it was brained and tuna-scented), and licked it. It was SURE she was going to open her mouth and eat it any minute. Then out of the blue she hissed and I flinched slightly. Once I flinched (thereby making the tongs jerk slightly) she was done and went to hide.

The fact that she comes out and approaches the pinkie and that she is out wandering (not hiding all the time) would make me think that she has adjusted to her new home. She acts just like every other well-adjusted reptile I've seen with the exception of the not eating thing. It's just strange to me.

[Albert Clark]

That is progress though. I would stick to what you have been doing bc that is showing promise.