caresheetNAhogs

1. Caging (Housing): Fish tank with a sturdy tight fitting lid. 10 Gallon for hatchlings or juveniles. 15 L to 20 Gallon for adults.

2. Substrate (bedding): Substrate should be a soft, dry material such as aspen shavings, Care Fresh, Desert Blend, Bed-A-Beast. can be used. Sand can be used-if care is taken to feed the snake in seperate enclosure, as it is known to cause intestinal blockages in some snakes. The same can be said of potting soil. The substrate should be 1 to 3 inches deep-depending on the size and age of the snake. All of these materials can be moisened on one end of the tank to raise humidity if needed for shedding.( A note on substrates and mites. If you feel you want to make sure mites don't invade your snake's home-you can sanitize the substrate in a number of ways. I personally use a microwave oven to pre-treat substrates such as Care-Fresh and Bed-A-Beast. This can be dangerous so use alot of care, thought, and CAUTION when microwaving any of your snakes supplies. Boiling water will do fine also-allow the bedding to dry naturally and then use it. Make sure it's dried and cooled before use.

   3. Other needs: A heavy, shallow water dish, a large flat rock for basking* (not required-see note at bottom on basking), and at least 1 hide box. A hide box can be made of nearly any material. Things you can use: commercially made hide boxes, inverted flower pots with an opening cut in it, well-just about any container with a hole cut in it will do. Old shoe boxes work nicely and can be disguarded and replaced when they get soiled. Any desposible thing you use is great to help keep the cage sanitary.

   4. Temperature: cool end-70 F / Hot end 82 to 85 F/ 65 F at night.
These are the ideals. An ambient room temp of 72 to 82 F is usually fine-especially for Eastern Hognose.

   5. Photoperiod: 12 to 14 hours. Non-brumation (winter cooling).
Brumation will be discussed on another page.

   6. Feeding: Once per week is generally fine. Hognose tend to take one large meal. Feeding is dicussed on a seperate page also-because the Eastern and Southern Hognose require specialized feeding and sometimes they can be somewhat difficult to feed. Western Hognose
are usually converted to eating rodents when they are purchsed from the breeder, and should be given appopriately sized rodents. In the case of wild caught Westerns or non-converted hatchlings that will not accept rodents-see the Feeding Page.

   * Basking: Hognose do not seem to need to bask or to need UV lighting. Some will bask but many will not, and retreat from the bright lights. Limit basking to about 1 hour each day. My snakes tend to enjoy Black Lights-perhaps this simulates dawn and dusk lighting to them. These are the times they feed and are most active. You can use Full Spectrum light if you desire and it certainly won't hurt them. A light unit with 3 different lights in it is ideal. One flourescent Full Spectrum, one basking, and one Black Light.

**Additonal note: Plants can be used in the cage-beware of live plants as they can carry mites. The hognose are active burrowers and will more than likely unroot and kill live plants. You may want to use artificial plants found in flower shops or use plastic plants made for fish tanks. If you use live plants in pots-be aware that hognose will burrow into the pots and uproot those plants as well.