I’m so happy for this little guy.

Hognoses are not like other snakes. Their habitat ranges from Canada to Texas, meaning their habitats can vary. You have to pick everything each snake likes through trial and error. You gotta find the sweet-spot.

Also, they eat many things in the wild, so their diets can vary as well. Again, you find which one through trial and error.

He’s gone 8 months between sheds, and has gone 98 days without eating. Then, when he did eat, he skipped meals for a few weeks after.

They hiss, hood up, bluff-strike, and play dead.

They’re not at all recommended as beginner snakes no matter what you may hear on Tik Tok. They’re a damn science experiment that can envenomate you.

Yes, Hognose snakes are venomous. They have fixed rear fangs like a Coral Snake. Their venom is mild but will cause swelling and pain. Some people have been hospitalized due to an allergic reaction.

You truly must love these little guys to keep them successfully because they’re the angsty-teen of the snake world.

Anyway, I’ve had this guy for a few years now. He has worried me sick on several occasions.

Sometimes, I get out of bed and he hisses at me. He’s in his house in his enclosure and he can’t even see me! When he doesn’t feel like eating, he will strike the mouse with his snout with so much force that he knocks it off the tongs and across the glass.

One time, to jump-start his feeding after “hibernation”, it was suggested that he eat live prey for his first meal.

I don’t enjoy it, but I’m used to it. My wife’s snake will only eat live prey.

Non-venomous snakes latch onto prey with their mouths and constrict. It’s over in a flash.

Venomous snakes strike quickly and allow the prey to die quietly before eating. It’s humane.

Guess what Hognose snakes do? They chew the venom into their food.

Imagine the tiny mouse screaming in terror as the snake’s fixed-fangs penetrate its flesh over and over. Then, the snake begins to swallow it while it’s still alive…

Regardless, this little guy shed yesterday and ate today, which made me proud.

I don’t think they’re snakes. I think scientists got lazy and were like, “Hisses and crawls? It’s a snake.”

That’s my Piggert!

I love him.