# Tripple Checking Hognose Husbundry



## Tristanb115 (9 mo ago)

Hey all,
So I have a western hognose snake (albino female, upward of 2 ft in length) who's been having some issues lately. She has a respiratory infection that she is on medication for given by an exotic vet, she also seems to be having diarrhea with slight blood in it (which I'm pretty sure is not linked to the RI). I'm not here to ask for a diagnosis or anything like that, I'm simply triple checking my hognose husbandry knowledge.
I did care research before I bought her and again after her first RI (september 2021, I've had her since may 2020), I just wanna make sure I'm not doing anything wrong and if I am, how I could fix it. She is currently in a glass 20 gallon long enclosure on a thin layer of aspen shaving substrate. She has a UVB bulb above her screen lid as recommended by the vet back in september. There are 2 hides, one on the warm end and one on the cool end. Her warm end is heated by a heat mat under the tank set to 91° via thermostat with the probe being between the mat and the bottom of the tank. She was feeding on 1 frozen thawed fuzzy mouse every week. I do not mist her enclosure, the only possible source of humidity is her water bowl.
I have a younger male hognose in a similar kind of environment and he's doing just fine aside from being very hissy.
Figured I'd get more opinions, do you see any glaring issues with my husbandry I may have missed? These are photos from a few days ago, I just blacked out 3 of the glass sides of her enclosure to help make her feel more secure. The hide on the cool side is that pinkish structure in front of the water bowl. Thanks for your time!


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## DoctorGreen. (Jun 2, 2019)

Honestly? Fish tanks are for fish. Thats issue number one. There will be very little air movement. Fish tanks were used back in the 60's and 70's when people didnt know any better. A nice wooden viv will do the job 1000 better.
That certainly wont be helping with the RI, and for a mostly fossorial species you have a lot of pointless space.

The big (and dare i say obvious issue) is that you have the probe placement in the worst place. The RI is a pretty good indicator of poor temps. You have said you are doing just about it all wrong RE: heating.

1/ what is the temp of the bottom of the tank? The mat temp is irrelevant.
2/ You need to be regulating the temp that the snake needs, NOT the temp that the mat is set for, because those are not the same thing.
Get a thermometer on the bottom of the inside of the tank and calibrate the mat /thermostat to that.


I dislike wood shavings, orchid bark, is what i use. Potting soil would probably be ideal for the snakes point of view.

The issue is one of balance, the snake would want a nice deep soil/leaf substrate. You would NEED to heat that from above. If you put more than an inch or two of substrate over the mat a/ it wont heat much past that nice insulating layer you just put down, or b/ you will get a thermal block and a nice housefire. This is again compounded by goddam fishtanks. Fossorial speices and undertank heating is pretty much oil and water. You can make it work, but its always a compromise.


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## Tristanb115 (9 mo ago)

DoctorGreen. said:


> Honestly? Fish tanks are for fish. Thats issue number one. There will be very little air movement. Fish tanks were used back in the 60's and 70's when people didnt know any better. A nice wooden viv will do the job 1000 better.
> That certainly wont be helping with the RI, and for a mostly fossorial species you have a lot of pointless space.
> 
> The big (and dare i say obvious issue) is that you have the probe placement in the worst place. The RI is a pretty good indicator of poor temps. You have said you are doing just about it all wrong RE: heating.
> ...


Thanks a lot for your insight. In terms of heating, would it be better of me to Silicone the probe in place at the bottom of her enclosure and keep using the mat? Or get some form of overhead heating? I wasnt planning on changing the substrate simply because it's what my other hog and garters are currently on, but it's something I'll keep in mind for sure. In terms of the enclosure itself, would some sort of reptile grade Exo Terra be better? That may have better ventilation.

Thanks again!


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

The substrate is fine.
The issue is the heating.
An exo terra is no different to a fish tank, as both are made of glass.
My advice would be to ditch the mat and go for a heat lamp. This will warm the air, something that the mat cannot do. I would also consider lining the enclosure with insulation to retain the warmth. You can use items such as cork tiles, polystyrene sheets etc.
Hogs need a high basking spot, around 35C.
Food is also an issue. She is undernourished. A fuzzie a week for a 2 foot female hog is not enough. When I was breeding hogs, my 2 foot females were all taking at least an adult mouse a week.
The bloody diarrhea is also a concern and needs to be looked into.


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## Tristanb115 (9 mo ago)

ian14 said:


> The substrate is fine.
> The issue is the heating.
> An exo terra is no different to a fish tank, as both are made of glass.
> My advice would be to ditch the mat and go for a heat lamp. This will warm the air, something that the mat cannot do. I would also consider lining the enclosure with insulation to retain the warmth. You can use items such as cork tiles, polystyrene sheets etc.
> ...


Thanks a lot, I will look into heat lamps as well as get her some larger rodents.


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## LiasisUK (Sep 30, 2019)

Agreed, larger rodents and heat bulbs not mats. Mats are useless. RI and diarrhea can both be caused by cold temps. Need warm air, RIs are often caused by simply breathing in cold air even if the surface they are sat on is warm.


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## Finn_69 (9 mo ago)

LiasisUK said:


> Agreed, larger rodents and heat bulbs not mats. Mats are useless. RI and diarrhea can both be caused by cold temps. Need warm air, RIs are often caused by simply breathing in cold air even if the surface they are sat on is warm.


Totally agree with you.


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