[Mojo]

Hello People,

Just brought home my sons xmas prezzies (lol), a western hognose and a great plains ratsnake. The hoggie seems fine, having a good ol' explore and dig in the beech in the faunarium, the rattie is still a bit skittish (new surroundings n all, he was in a storage box in the shop, now also in a faunarium).

I wasn't planning on handling either for a good 5 days or so, trouble is, the ratsnakes due a feed tomorrow, what do people reckon? Take it out of the viv to feed it and possibly cause stress, or leave it a few days (boxing day?)

No probs with the hoggie, it was fed yesterday, altho he gave me a good old show when putting him in the viv, a proper hiss and neck spread - made me giggle! Then quiet as a mouse when picked up!

 

[Elaphe]

i would leave it until the snake has settled in

 

[Morts]

They'll be fine going an extra few days, in the wild they might have to go much longer! If you do decide to feed him in the next couple of days remember to give them a good 48 hours digestion time before handling them which your sons probably not gonna be too impressed about on christmas day when he wants to hold his new snake lol

 

[cornmorphs]

yeh they will live.. as long as the viv is set up ok, i would leave them for 7 days or so... presuming they were eating ok when you got them of course.

 

[thorrshamri]

Western hognoses are quite in the habit of hissing and inflating their necks like cobras,but they almost never bite,don't worry-and mine took about 10 days before starting feeding,so there is nothing to worry about,really :wink:

 

[scarlettvegetable]

I always let my new arrivals settle for at least a week before feeding them. As the shop/breeder they have come from will have housed them differently, there may be a temperature difference, and different smells etc, so at least a week to acclimate to the environment you create for them. I also keep handling to a minimum anyway, but especially for new arrivals. They also stay in basic setups for a period of around 6 weeks or more to check for any problems :lol:

Some people will feed straight away, and thats fine, the above is just my way of doing things and it works well for me :lol:

 

[royalpython]

I've had royal's courier'd before and had every one of them eat within 12 hours of arriving at my house.. strike feeding as well. I suppose it's up to you really.. Does your son know you've bought him this? Maybe leave it till xmas day so he can enjoy feeding them both.

 

[Mojo]

Hi,

Fed the rat snake today, wolfed down two fluffs! Showed off a bit by having his body in the lid of the box and reaching down and eating it in the air!! He still seems very skittish, but obviously not affecting his feeding!!

Not handled him yet, apart from taking him out of the viv for his feed.

Son's at his mums at the moment, due back on friday - just in time for the hoggie feed (which is still hissing and rearing up, so funny lol)

Thanks for all the replies

 

[Ms.P]

aw congrats! that's ace news! I've been told to leave my royal to settle in for 4 weeks before excessive handling, to make sure he's feeding fine. I'm feeding him on saturday. If I have to feed in the viv (if theyre in shed etc) I usually place a big piece of newspaper or kitchen towel in there to feed them on! No compaction scares that way, and no stress from moving em round whilst in shed!

eeeep I'm curious about hognoses! you got any pics up?

 

[Mojo]

No, sorry, need to borrow a digi camera and sort some out - probs when H (the son) is home. Really cool snake tho, seems dead chilled, and really intersting behaviour - totally different to the ratsnake or the kingsnake my son has.

 

[rach666]

hey ,i couldnt get the temp in my viv high enough at first,but with my snake bein an adult was told he would be fine for few days till i got it sorted! but obviously i couldnt feed him,so now hes on the hunt constantly but shall have his wish granted in a couple of days!temp has being spot on now for over a week!