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Hognose - Digging?

2K views 32 replies 9 participants last post by  Spreebok 
#1 ·
Can a baby Hognose (April 2012, currently 9 grams :flrt:) dig through aspen easily enough?

I collected my first Hoggie today and quickly set up a little RUB for him, filled quite deeply (about 2") with Aspen. This is heated with a heat mat covering one half, which is stat'd to give 33 degrees C at the base (internally) under the substrate.

My concern is that the little hoggie might not be too good at digging to get closer to the heat - he seems quite content at the top of the aspen, under a flat piece of cork bark. Should I remove some substrate?
 
#3 ·
My little lad seems to do fine digging, and he's a tiny midget of a hognose hatched only a few months ago :2thumb: if you're worried though just thin the substrate a bit on the warm side, and leave the cool side deeper for him to dig in.
 
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#6 ·
#14 ·
That's good to know, thanks - I'm just being overly cautious as he's so bloody small, by far the smallest snake I've owned yet.

Perhaps he's not yet learnt what that snout is for? :2thumb: I pushed my finger into the aspen to create a little tunnel, and once he'd stopped flaring his neck and stamping his tail at me, he bolted down the hole - hopefully he'll have a good dig around whilst he's down there.
 
#18 ·
Mine was great when she was a teeny baby, I got her when she was about 10g and she loved digging through the aspen, she had loo roll tubes filled with aspen and that was all covered over with more aspen, hardly seen more than a head pop up lol, she's now 112g and will be warmed up after brumation in a week or so.
 
#21 ·
They're born to diggydiggy, he'll have no trouble doing so :)

Hope you put some pictures up soon, the little buggers are addictive, I drove from Exeter to West Yorkshire for one lol!
 
#24 ·
I got some better pictures of Angry Hank tonight - despite his distaste of me, I think we are going to get along swimmingly...

This is where Hank lives:




Lift up a piece of bark to find...



And then it's tea time for Hank:




Yay Hank!! It's always a reassuring sign that you're going to get along nicely when a new arrival - and a baby one at that - eats first time with no fuss. That was a tiny little pinky just to test the water, I'll give him another one in 4 or 5 days time.

Bless him :flrt:
 
#25 ·
I got some better pictures of Angry Hank tonight - despite his distaste of me, I think we are going to get along swimmingly...

This is where Hank lives:

image
image

Lift up a piece of bark to find...

image

And then it's tea time for Hank:

image
image

Yay Hank!! It's always a reassuring sign that you're going to get along nicely when a new arrival - and a baby one at that - eats first time with no fuss. That was a tiny little pinky just to test the water, I'll give him another one in 4 or 5 days time.

Bless him :flrt:
Hank looks great and he looked like he was enjoying that pinkie & I love the set up he has, looks big but he'll have plenty room to grow in there :)
 
#31 ·
Looks lovely! If you don't plan to put him in a viv when he's bigger, a 9ltr rub will do a regular sized male for life! My 2 year old male is in a 9ltr, he was in half a 3ft viv, but he hated it lol! Sucks, as I loved seeing him in the viv, but his happiness comes first!

Fantastic on him chowing down first time, my male did the night I got him, offered a small and he grabbed it and ate it in my hand haha! Looks like he made a mess with that pink, is that guts I see smeared everywhere? :p

Edit: In regards to the poop, you go digging yourself lol! Seriously though, you will SMELL it before you see it. Hognose poop is much fouler than anything else I've dealt with, you'll know when it's there haha!
 
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#32 ·
Initially I did have a secure viv set aside for him, but after collecting him and realising just how teeny-tiny he is, realised that I'd never find him in there!! One day he may be moved into a 2 foot viv taking pride of place in my living room, but it really depends on his temperament - like you I put their needs over my own preference.

Thanks - I'm really pleased he ate straight away. He was a bit of a bugger when born; hatched in April, and didn't eat until September, and even then it was only pinky legs, then onto chopped up pinkies, before finally moving onto full pinks, so yeah I'm rather relieved he decided to behave for me - it's an encouraging sign that they are happy in their new environment too :) I actually didn't notice that mess at the bottom of the feeding tub until posting this picture! The seller actually gave me that tub, it's Hanks tub that he feeds in, and I wanted to keep to the routine that he's used to for now, so I'm guessing those mark are blood and guts of previous "conquests". Probably not too sanitary, but I bet it smells just lovely to little Hank : victory:

Hmmm. I did notice a funny smell tonight when I took the RUB lid off, but thought it might just be how Hoggies smell, or that musk that they produce. Well, looks like I'm off poo hunting!!

Thanks all :notworthy:
 
#33 ·
Haha, and I thought my little one was a bugger! Pinky legs ey? I can imagine he is a little stunted lol! And yeah, I can see keeping the routine, I'd be itching to attack it with the F10 haha!

Might be poop, might be musk, they both smell awful xD
 
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