Hognose snakes personal care sheet

Heterodon nasicus BAIRD & GIRARD 1852



Classification :

Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class : Reptilia
Order : Squamata
Family: Colubridae

There are two subspecies :H. nasicus nasicus BAIRD & GIRARD 1852 ,the Western Hognose Snake , and H. nasicus gloydi EDGREN 1952 .

Description and behaviour :

This snakes belongs to the colubrids family .It has venomous fangs but they are not connected to any venomous glands so it is theorically harmless .Nevertheless ,the saliva of Hognoses contains a slightly toxic poison which may cause benignous local inflammations .More serious symptoms would require the snake to bite for several minutes without releasing its jaw .But they are generally not eager to bite their owners and the effects of the saliva toxin remain quite harmless and can even go unnoticed .Children and adults thus do not run any risk ,unless an allergy to these particular toxins is detected .

This is a small–sized snake,with an average length between 16 and 25 inches .My adult male is 17 inches long and my female is 27 inches .Females are always larger (up to 3 feet long ) and sexual dimorphism is easy to notice as shown below (pic use with agreement of the photographer ) :

Female on top ,male below :




Hognose snakes are quite thickset and they own their name to their snout which is shortened a bit like a pig’s nose .Scales on the back are beige with sometimes orangeish hues ,with rows of brown patches which may vary from light brown to dark brown ,chocolate hues...These patches are lined with black lines but some morphs have not these lines .The belly scales are usually black .

I find this snake very interesting for display for several reasons :it is active in the early hours of the morning and during the evenings .It buries in the substrate to get unnoticed during the day and can raise his body like a cobra very impressively when it is disturbed ,hissing and inflating its neck .This is a defensive behaviour .My snakes are both captive –bred and I manipulate them from time to time but I have never been bitten so far .They can also produce a foul-smelling repulsive odour from defensive glands situated in the cloaca .Some hognoses can be tricky and aggressive and one has to be careful when opening the vivarium ,as for manipulations it should be underlined that reptiles do not particularly appreciate them and they should be avoided or done quite scarcely .From my point of view ,it is a good choice for beginners ,they are small ,the care is easy ,they are hardy and sturdy animals and i have never had any trouble nor health problems with them .

Location :

Hognoses live in the Southwestern part of Canada ,in the Middle West to the Californian coast in the USA and in some areas of Northern Mexico .

Lifespan :

With proper care and feeding ,these snakes can live up to 15 years .

Legal Status :

No CITES number required .

Initial choice :

In all cases you should choose a captive –bred hognose .Wild-caught are to be avoided ,they are generally more aggressive and can be difficult to feed ,and WC are always carriers of internal parasitoses .The best choice is to purchase them at a private breeder or in a reliable pet shop .

Vivarium and settings :

My hognoses’ vivarium is desertic and quite simple .They are kept separatedly from each other and I only left them together this year for 2 weeks during the mating period .Each of them has a 2ft x 1ftx1ft vivarium ,it is useless to give too much height as they are a ground-dwelling species and they hardly climb .The substrate is red or white playsand ,about 1 inch thick so that when they burrow I can still catch sight of them .A mangrove root is used as a hide and also to provide them with a place to rub on during shedding .A few flat rocks are added as hides and basking places .Inside the vivarium ,walls are covered on the three vertical panes by resin imitating a rock cliff .I did not put any plants in their vivariums .Fresh water in a small bowl is available at any time and changed on a daily basis .

Temperatures :

A heating wire under the tank covering two-thirds of the ground surface to create a thermal gradient controlled by a thermostat enables the vivarium to be 73°F to 81°F ,with a localised basking spot at 86-88°F .During the night ,the vivariums are left to room temperature ,i.e. in the low 70s .

Lighting :

I have provided both vivs with 2.0 UVB neon lights ,mainly for aesthetic reasons as the colours of the snakes are thus enhanced ,but you can do without UVB lights ,most breeders do not use them .Daylight ,providing the viv does not get overheated by direct sunrays from a window,is absolutely sufficient .The light is switched on for 14 hours per day in the summer months and only 10 hours in winter time .

Hygrometry :

It is not necessary to spray the vivarium ,it should remain dry with a dry substrate to avoid any health problems ,usually under 50% in the daytime .

Feeding :

In the wild ,this species mainly preys on fishes and frogs like European colubrids .They have a very peculiar way to eat ,engulfing live prey rather than killing them by constriction .Prey items are swallowed whole and chewed with the toxic saliva ,always heads first .I had some trouble at the beginning to get them used to dead (thawed ) prey but now it is no longer a problem ,with a little patience they always feed very well .You can stimulate food intake by gently annoying them with the prey on their tail and snout .Always use tweezers when feeding and wash your hands so that they do not carry any smell of rodents .If it does not succed ,try feeding the next days ,and always feed in a quiet room ,with no TV sets or stereos around ,nor people crowded in front of the viv .

It took me about 3 months before their first thawed pinkie mice meal ,so do not get upset too soon if your hognoses do not eat at the beginning ,and do not resort to force-feeding before 4 to 6 months of starvation .In the beginning ,I fed them with 2 pinkie mice per meal every 5 days and as they grew larger ,a fuzzie every week .You have to be cautious not to overfeed your snakes ,their lifespan would shorten and breeding capacities would be altered as well .I thaw frosted mice in a bowl of lukewarm water .I also tried thawed frog legs ,removing the bone prior to feeding and they accepted them too.

I tried some fishes like guppies ,thinking it could work like with Garter Snakes ,but they did not seem really interested .In order to avoid any risk of impaction ,my snakes are fed outside the viv in plastic containers .

Shedding :

When I see my snakes are about to shed ,I spray under their root hide a little ,but without making the sand look like a swamp .Shedding frequency is about once every 3 weeks when they are still hatchlings ,and every 6 weeks as an average for adults .

Breeding :

My couple is 3 years old now and this is their first year of breeding ,they mated in April and at the beginning of May I got 6 quite big eggs .They were put in my incubator with a nearly 100% humidity level and a constant 82°F temperature .4 of the eggs were not fertile and eggs hatched 55 days after having been laid .After mating ,the females always become more voracious eaters ,and I switched to 2 fuzzies meal per week .There is always a shed 8-15 days prior to egg-laying . Gravid females may go unnoticed if they carry only a few eggs,as their body diameter is quite large.

Juveniles are housed in individual plastic tanks with the same temps and settings as adults ,these tanks being tightly closed to prevent any escape .They feed after the first shed and do well in a 12 x10x 8 inches box each .

Recommended readings :

Atlas of the snakes of the world,John COBORN,TFH Ed.,Malabar,FL,USA.
Hognose snakes,Adele RICHARDSON,TFH Ed.,idem.
Reptil’Mag numéro 8 (article).


©2006 Lilith for the French text ,Thorrshamri/H. Saint Dizier for additional materials and translation into English ,Rémi Ksas for one of the pictures .

Very useful. Thanks Lilith!

wow,good job.This is certainly a reference care sheet I'm glad to print for myself and my bro.Congrats.

oh thanks a lot