Hognose Snake Care Page

Reptiles aren’t like dogs and cats that can simply roam around your house. They are very sensitive to their environment, and need their own enclosure set up according to their specific needs. This guide covers everything you will need to care for your pet hognose snake properly.

Your enclosure size will depend on the size of your individual snake, which can vary between subspecies and sexes. Here is a formula for calculating a hognose snake’s bare minimum space needs:

Enclosure Width ≥ snake length
Enclosure Length ≥ ½ snake length
Enclosure Height ≥ ½ snake length

However, if you can provide an enclosure with more height or floor space, do it! Housing your snake in a larger enclosure will encourage it to be more active and demonstrate more natural behaviors.

Recommended for snakes under 24″ (most Southerns & male Westerns):

Exo Terra 24″x18″x18″

Zen Habitats 2’x2’x2’

Kages 30″x16″x16″

Recommended for snakes over 30″ (most Easterns & female Westerns):

C.R.H. 36″x24″x17″

Kages 3’x2’x2’

Zen Habitats 48″x24″x16″

Substrate is the material that you use to cover the floor of the enclosure. This aspect of the enclosure is important for hognose snakes because it encourages natural behaviors and contributes to overall humidity levels. Hognoses are burrowing snakes, so they require at least 3-5” of loose substrate to dig around in.

DIY
One of the best substrates for hognoses is a DIY mix of roughly 70% untreated topsoil + 30% play sand. Mix well, soak until muddy, then pack it firmly at the bottom of the enclosure. Make sure it is 100% dry before introducing the snake to the setup.

Pre-Packaged
You can also use a pre-packaged substrate, though this can be more costly. Depending on the brand, you may still need to add some topsoil (if too dusty) or sand (if too moist/dense) to reach desired consistency. Here are some recommended commercial substrates appropriate for hognose snakes:

JF BioBedding Desert (West)

BioDude Terra Firma (East/South)

Lugarti Bedding (East/South)

Bioactive
Another option is a bioactive setup. Bioactive enclosure setups are designed to mimic a reptile’s natural environment and stimulate natural behaviors. All above substrates can easily support bioactivity with the addition of a “cleanup crew” of isopods and springtails that clean up uneaten food, fallen leaves, and fecal remains, making bioactive substrates incredibly low maintenance.

Aspen Chips/Shavings:
Aspen is a very popular, cheap, and easy substrate for hognose snakes. While aspen doesn’t hold burrows or moisture as well as a naturalistic substrate, molds easily, and can be dusty, it is perfectly safe if properly sourced and maintained. We recommend using a good brand like Zilla or Zoo Med, wetting the aspen down, and baking it at a low temp to help reduce dust.

Reptiles are much more intelligent than we humans tend to give them credit for, and that means they need things to entertain them. Otherwise they exist in a state of perpetual boredom, which makes them dull, inactive, and overall less interesting as pets. When reptiles have objects to interact with in their enclosure, they become less stressed and more engaged with their environment. This practice is called environmental enrichment.

It’s important to choose enrichment items (a.k.a. enclosure decor) that are appropriate to your pet’s natural behaviors. Here are some objects that serve a vital function in a hognose snake terrarium:

UVB is important for healthy metabolism, specifically vitamin D synthesis and calcium metabolism, improving skin health, and strengthening the immune system. UVB can be replaced with an oral vitamin D3 supplement for hognose snakes, but this method is less effective and more difficult to regulate, so we strongly recommend using a proper UV lamp instead.

UVA is beneficial to eyesight and is sensed by their pineal gland to regulate a circadian rhythm. UVA is emitted by both UV lamps and halogen bulbs. UV lamps are especially likely to be beneficial to hognoses since they are naturally most active during the day.

Infrared radiation (i.e. heat) is important for reptiles' thermoregulation. As ectotherms, they rely on the heat of the sun to warm their bodies and stimulate their metabolism, digest their food, and stay alert and active. The shorter the wavelength, the deeper it can penetrate their muscle tissue. In captivity, we can provide this with specific heat bulbs that emit the most beneficial infrared wavelengths (IR-A and IR-B).

All light and heat should be kept on a regular schedule using outlet timers or done manually. This allows for a predictable day/night cycle which the snake can follow, allowing for natural hormonal rhythms and good mental health. We recommend the following schedule for hognose snakes, based on their natural environment:

Hognose snakes need UVB in order to stay healthy - they may be burrowers, but they are still diurnal reptiles. They are capable of surviving in captivity without UVB if they receive sufficient supplementary vitamin D3 in their diet, but simply surviving is not thriving. D3 supplement dosing is extremely imprecise and less efficiently absorbed by the body. Experts don't know much vitamin D3 hognose snakes actually need, but they do know how much UVB is needed for them to self-regulate their own D3 production, so providing a UV lamp is far more natural and beneficial to promote optimum health.

Hognose snakes should have a 5-7% UVB output T5 lamp or a 10% UVB output T8 lamp. We recommend Arcadia or Zoo Med brand linear fluorescent tubes, as these brands produce the best and most reliable UV lamps on the market. The lamp should be roughly ½ to ⅔ the width of the enclosure and placed on the same side as the heat lamp. So if you have a 36” long enclosure, you will need a 18-24” bulb.

Best UVB bulbs for hognose snakes:

Arcadia ProT5 6%

Zoo Med Reptisun T5 HO 5.0

Zoo Med Reptisun T8 10.0

Distance and Mesh
The strength of the UVB lamp’s output varies according to distance from the bulb - stronger when closer, and weaker when further away. If you are using a Solarmeter 6.5 to measure your UVB lamp’s output, the UVI (UV Index) reading should be between 2.0-3.0 on the basking platform and down to 0 on the cool side. Otherwise, here is a rough estimate of how far away your basking platform should be, based on whether the lamp is mounted above or below mesh:

1. 10-12” (through mesh)
2. 12-15” (without mesh obstruction)

Fixture
To optimize your UVB bulb’s performance, you will need a high-quality reflective fixture. Some lamps come in kits that already include a fixture, such as the Arcadia ProT5 kit or Zoo Med 5.0 T5HO kit. Otherwise, Zoo Med and Vivarium Electronics make various fixtures for both T5 and T8 bulbs.

Josh's Frogs 24” T5 Fixture (for 22” bulbs)

(for 22” bulbs)

Zoo Med T5 HO Terrarium Hood

Zoo Med ReptiSun T8 Terrarium Hood

(20 inch)

T5 bulbs last 12 months before requiring replacement, as their UVB output decays over time. Off-brand UVB bulbs are likely to have shorter lifespans and unreliable output. Avoid “compact” and coil UVB bulbs, as these cannot properly distribute a UV gradient across the enclosure.

Hognose snakes are reptiles, which means that they are ectothermic, or cold-blooded. Ectotherms need access to a variety of temperatures within a certain range in order to properly regulate their metabolism. Your temperature needs will vary based on the subspecies of hognose snake:

Western hognose:

1. Basking area surface: 90-95°F
2. Warm side ambient: 85-90°F
3. Cool side ambient: 70-75°F
4. Nighttime: 65-75°F, but no colder than 60°F

Eastern and Southern hognose:

1. Basking area surface: 86-88°F
2. Warm side ambient: 80-85°F
3. Cool side ambient: 70-75°F
4. Nighttime: 65-75°F, but no colder than 60°F (65°F for Southern)

All basking heat and lights should be turned off at night and kept on a regular day/night cycle that matches the same schedule as the UVB and daylight lamps, allowing for a natural temperature drop and a healthy circadian rhythm.

To track the temperatures in your hognose snake's enclosure, you will need a good thermometer. Temp gun-style infrared thermometers are useful for measuring surface temperatures anywhere in the enclosure. However, digital probe thermometers are useful for being able to track local air temperatures at a glance. It's best to have at least 2 thermometers to measure temps on each end of the heat gradient. Here are some devices we recommend for measuring temperatures:

Zoo Med Digital Thermo & Humidity Gauge

Etekcity Lasergrip 774

Western hognoses need relatively dry conditions (30-50% humidity), while Eastern and Southern hognoses prefer slightly higher humidity (50-60%), especially when they’re about to shed. A simple hand mister can be used to bump up humidity when it drops below the required range. Proper loose substrate, an adequately sized water bowl, good cross-ventilation, and overhead heating will all help to stabilize the enclosure's humidity levels.

These humidity ranges are probably similar to the levels in your own home, but it’s still important to keep track of the specific humidity in your snake's enclosure. You can measure humidity with a hygrometer like the Zoo Med Digital Combo Gauge linked in the Measuring Temperature section.

Hygrometers should be placed within 12” above the substrate towards the middle of the enclosure to give you an accurate idea of average humidity levels (or one on either side if using a thermo/hygro combo meter).

For best health, hognose snakes should be cooled and allowed to brumate for 2-3 months each winter.

Brumation is the reptile equivalent of mammalian hibernation in which reptiles over 1 year old experience a natural metabolic slowdown during the coldest months in their natural environment. This is a perfectly normal part of your snake's annual cycle, and some sources assert that providing a regular winter cooling period to captive reptiles results in healthier, longer-lived animals.

Symptoms:

1. Less active than usual
2. Loss of appetite
3. Hiding for weeks at a time
4. Preferring the cool side of the enclosure

For more information on how to brumate your hognose safely and effectively, go here.

Here is a basic feeding schedule for pet hognose snakes:

Prey items should be the same diameter as the snake’s head, no larger. As the snake grows, gradually increase the size of the prey.

Although mice are the most commonly available feeders, hognose snakes need to eat more than just rats and mice to truly thrive. Wild Western hognoses eat primarily toads and very rarely eat mammals or birds. The key to providing a healthy, balanced diet for your pet snake is variety. Here are some good feeder options for a varied diet:

We strongly recommend offering frozen-thawed prey, rather than live. This is much safer for the snake, as they can be seriously injured by live animals. Frozen prey should be slowly thawed in the fridge overnight, then about 15-30 minutes before offering, seal it in a BPA-free plastic bag like a Ziploc and submerge in warm, almost hot, water until the prey reaches about 100°F/38°C. Hognoses are more visually-dependent than some other snakes, so you may need to wiggle the feeder around to get them to strike. Use soft-tipped feeding tweezers to protect your snake's teeth.

All prey should be captive bred. Don’t feed your snake animals from the wild — this can make them sick! Here are some sites we recommend to buy safe, captive-bred, frozen feeders:

1. Perfect Prey
2. Layne Labs
3. Reptilinks

While in theory, hognose snakes should get all the nutrition they need from whole prey, captive-bred feeder animals can be inferior to their wild counterparts when it comes to nutrition. You should lightly dust prey items occasionally with calcium or vitamin supplement to help fill in the gaps in your snake’s diet. Here is a basic supplement schedule:

Juveniles
Calcium: every feeding
Multivitamin: mixed 50/50 with calcium every other feeding

Adults
Calcium: every feeding
Multivitamin: mixed 50/50 with calcium every 4th feeding

Keep a large, heavy bowl of water in the enclosure at all times, big enough to accommodate the snake's entire body for soaking as desired. Keep the water clean and fresh at all times. At least once a week, scrub the bowl with an animal-safe disinfectant like F10SC or chlorhexidine before refilling.

Do not use distilled or softened water! Tap, spring, and even filtered water (assuming that it’s safe for humans to drink) contains minerals vital to your snake's health. You can dechlorinate tap water with a conditioner like ReptiSafe.

Start handling sessions at no more than 5 minutes every few days. After a couple weeks of this, gradually work your way up to longer periods of time more frequently. Once this has been accomplished, you can work up to 10 minutes, and then gradually longer from there.

Hognose snake handling can occur up to 1-2x weekly, but no more than once daily. Note that Easterns and Southerns may be more defensive/flighty than Westerns, so it’s better to restrict handling sessions to 1x/week for them.

Hognose snakes are rear-fanged venomous snakes, and while their venom isn't usually medically significant to humans, it should still be taken seriously. The venom can't kill, but it can cause pain and swelling if you're allergic to it. This is especially the case if you allow the snake to chew on you for a prolonged period, which produces more venom. If you are worried about getting bitten, wear a thick pair of leather gloves or similar during handling.

Hognose snakes have a variety of body language cues. When you learn to understand these cues, you can understand your pet’s mood and needs better, and react accordingly.

Tongue flicking in and out — Snake is “smelling” the air. This is how it knows when prey or a human is nearby. Also signals that the snake is awake.

No movement or tongue flicking — Snake is probably asleep (they don’t have eyelids to close). Approach with caution.

Puffing up, flattening the body behind the head, and loud hissing— Snake feels threatened and is preparing to defend itself if necessary. May also be preparing to strike at prey. Snake is telling you to “go away.”

Playing-dead —Defensive act.

Musking/defecating during handling — Snake perceives you as a predator, and uses poo or an unpleasant-smelling musk to try to get away.

Clouded/bluish eyes — Snake is preparing to shed. May be extra defensive because it can’t see well.

Hognose snakes can suffer from a variety of health problems including: abrasions dehydration, mites, obesity and respiratory infections. If your hognose snake is displaying potential symptoms of illness, it’s important to take them to an experienced reptile veterinarian right away for diagnosis and treatment. Do not try to treat them at home, as you could make the problem worse!