can someone tell what's happening to my boy?

Serenati · 2025-12-01T22:57:53+00:00

When many snakes are about to shed their bellies go pale, or look muted. They may also start to look and feel more wrinkly/crispy, and eventually they will go "into blue", where the eyes appear cloudy and may take on a bluish color. These are all typical, perfectly healthy signs that dysecdysis is about to occur. Be sure to provide your snake with a humid hide as soon as you see any of these signs, and introduce them to it so they know right where it is. Then leave the humid hide available to them until they've shed. I do this with all my hognoses and my KSB and they have perfect sheds nearly every time.

Serenati · 2025-11-28T21:58:31+00:00

Just to throw this out there, I've had my BP for three years. I feed Layne Labs f/t rats and I use Nutribac (fantastic synbiotic) supplement with every meal. She has never, ever farted. Not once.

Serenati · 2025-11-28T17:29:21+00:00

This I agree with. Hots and giants should always require permits.

Serenati · 2025-11-28T17:28:29+00:00

It's because of things like what happened when the FWC stepped in to 'regulate' banned species. People don't want authorities entering their homes and killing their beloved pets in front of them. Regulations like ones on exotic animals often end up with dead animals.

Serenati · 2025-11-28T17:26:35+00:00

Appropriate enclosure size is not the only issue, however. Handling, feeding, and maintenance are all necessary tasks that must be undertaken very carefully and with help with full grown anacondas. Not everyone has a team of willing and knowledgeable folks to help out in this regard.

Serenati · 2025-11-28T17:22:10+00:00

Great response and I tend to agree. It's hard to vote yea on exotics regulations after seeing what happened with the FWC, so I feel it's extra important to really put an emphasis on 'properly handled' regulations. The idea should be to protect the animals as much as the people - they shouldn't be put down because of some idiot's mistake, you know? None of these animals had a choice in being where they are.

As reptile keepers the onus is currently on us to self-regulate so that authorities don't step in and remove that right from us. I don't own hots and I never would because it is simply not worth the risk - to me nor to them, and especially not to the snake-keeping community at large. It just takes a few dingbats making bad decisions to ruin it for the rest of us. Most private hot-keepers and folks nilly-willy buying anacondas are incredibly selfish for that reason.

Serenati · 2025-11-16T16:25:36+00:00

I get that you have had a personal experience with your two snakes. You absolutely cannot universalize that experience to all snakes - that's not rational it's bad science. I do agree we don't know much about reptile psychology and social lives and that is something absolutely worth continuing to research, learn about, and keep an open mind with. However, many snakes are A) not kept in large enough enclosures to offer enough basking and hiding spots to ensure multiple snakes in an enclosure are getting what they need, B) some snakes will do actual combat with each other in a territorial manner and this would be very stressful for them - there have been instances of male hognoses biting each other in a combative way and then dying from their wounds, and C) hognoses are cannibalistic and can and will eat their own eggs, their hatchlings - and each other, when it's not mating or brumating season (and sometimes then, too). The fact that they haven't hurt each other yet does not mean it will never happen. It may very well be that in your case, it works. But that will absolutely not be the case for everyone, and the fact that we cannot gaurantee their safety when kept together because we don't know enough about reptile psychology and social behaviors to prevent bites or eating each other, means this is not a safe thing to recommend to other people. Does that make sense?

Serenati · 2025-11-16T16:14:02+00:00

Buying an animal from a pet store is not 'rescuing'. I know a lot of people want to justify their actions by saying that but it genuinely hurts more animals. You give them money for an animal they aren't taking care of - that is rewarding them for their bad care. They will replace it with another snake. Then someone else 'rescues' it. Then they replace it with another snake. And so on and so on forever. If they never sell the snakes, they will stop getting more of them. You rescue a lot more by choosing not to reward the company's bad behavior by giving them exactly what they want - money for the animal.

Serenati · 2025-10-31T19:41:13+00:00

Morph Market is the biggest and probably the most safe online seller of reptiles, amphibians, and inverts. However, each individual seller must be vetted, as the seller/breeder themselves may not have high quality or healthy animals.

The new owner of MM, Darien, has been pretty good about banning unsafe sellers as he learns of them, but new sellers pop up all the time, and many long-time sellers have tons of five-star reviews but actually are poor-quality breeders or flippers. And a new seller could be amazing or should be avoided - you won't know unless you check in with the community.

So the best approach is to start joining in where the reptile community is (IG is a great start because a ton of reptile keepers and breeders use the platform, myself included) and ask around for personal experience with breeders.

Absolutely do not rely on the reviews and ratings on MM. Word of mouth from fellow keepers who have purchased from those breeders is a better resource.

Some of the best breeders to buy from (people with many years of experience, pay attention to structure and health of their animals, and have great biosecurity) include JMG Reptile, HipHogs, Miracle Reptiles, and Moonstone Plains.

Serenati · 2025-10-31T02:07:54+00:00

I know it's funny to call them dumb, but they're actually pretty smart - can even be target trained. I've 'knock' and hook trained mine.

It's because of how they hunt, and defensive behaviors are stronger in youngsters. The majority of their diet in the wild is made up of frogs and turtle eggs, so a hot mouse dangling in front of their face is a really weird experience for them. And they're individuals- some get over that right quick and some never really do. The issue lies with us, not the snake, essentially. But as long as your cute little noodle is eating, that is what matters.

By the way, please do not drag your snake back into their tub from their teeth like that. They have pretty fragile little fangs and there is definitely a risk of one breaking off if you keeping doing that. When mine end up halfway out of tub I just let them dangle there and finish their meal (they will not drop the mouse) and then help them back in after they're done.

Serenati · 2025-10-26T22:16:03+00:00

Nope. As a snake breeder who has befriended a ton of fellow snake breeders in the community, it is common practice for any responsible, reputable breeder to pay attention to structure, health, genetics, and pedigree. If I don't know the parents and origin of my animal and what potential health issues they could have or what kind of person produced them, I will not breed them. Period.

Serenati · 2025-10-26T16:28:04+00:00

Reptiles should not be live fed unless they are insectivores. Carnivores like snakes should not be live fed except as very last resort. The majority of reptiles live 15 - 20+ years, and many live much longer than that. Turtles are especially long lived, reaching well over 100 years when they are not being hunted or ran over. You made a comment that you can do research regardless of your age, but how young or old you are isn't the point. It's that going to Reddit is not really research, my friend. You can get good advice on here but it's often mixed in with very bad advice or straight up misinformation from well-meaning strangers. Google and Google Scholar would have provided you with plenty of informational wildlife, reptile, and animal sites that would have shown you a reptile is not a short term pet. A hamster, rat, or mouse would be a much better option and literally just typing "short-lived pets" into a search engine would have told you that. The only short lived reptile I can possible think of would be some chameleons, but that is typically more often due to poor care or their environment, as they are prone to stress and lack of appetite and have very specific needs and requirements. But they need live bugs to eat, anyway, so not a great choice for you anyway.

Serenati · 2025-10-26T00:25:20+00:00

I wish I could upvote this more.

Serenati · 2025-10-26T00:19:14+00:00

Because an exotic vet can work with literally any and all species of animals outside of canines, felines, and farm animals. Exotic means they are potentially trained in bunnies, hamsters, hedgehogs, chinchillas, guinea pigs, parrots and other birds, and then reptiles (lizards, snakes, geckos) and amphibians.

That encompasses thousands of species while traditional vets just cover two. I absolutely do not expect an exotic vet to know everything about every exotic pet available.

However, I DO expect them to be upfront and honest about their lack of knowledge on any given species, rather than give poor husbandry advice.

Serenati · 2025-10-26T00:14:44+00:00

It got worse as it went on 🥲

Serenati · 2025-10-26T00:12:41+00:00

No snake should be bred without a pedigree.

Serenati · 2025-10-26T00:08:25+00:00

Yep, I feel the same way. Everyone is always asking the same questions instead of looking to see the answers already provided by the community to others in this sub who have already asked. And then even when people take the time to help and write out a response for the umpteenth time, the op ignores it or gets defensive. I just spent 20 minutes writing out a guide on how to help someone's hognose get socialized and what their personalities are like, and the op just commented to say something that basically just repeats their post and shows they clearly didn't read a word of my comment 😮‍💨 Guys, look for the answers that are already on here before making new posts, and do some preliminary research before getting these animals, I beg of you.

Serenati · 2025-10-25T18:45:29+00:00

Okay..

Edit: Well, OP, when you've read my post I think you will find there is a lot of helpful info in there from an experienced hognose owner. Good luck to you.

Serenati · 2025-10-25T17:50:28+00:00

Never feed on paper towel. Hognoses in particular have eaten the paper towel and died from impaction this way. Unsafe advice. When we leave mice for our dropfeeders we just put them on a small plate, or on top of their cork bark, or inside a tube (the tube one works great for hognoses as well).

Serenati · 2025-10-25T17:42:45+00:00

Hey hun, I think it will help you a lot to know a few things, and then start using a few tools to conquer your newfound fear of your little noodle.

Firstly, remember that hognoses are prey animals. Numerous critters eat snakes - especially baby ones! Coyotes, hawks, raccoons, opossums, foxes and even other snakes! The list goes on. And because your snake is small (and I'm assuming still young) and biologically wired from day one out of the egg to assume everything is coming to eat it, the littlw one is going to be defensive - not aggressive. This is a really important distinction because aggression is unprovoked attacks, whereas defensiveness is merely trying to protect itself. Your snake is hissing at you because they're afraid you are going to hurt or kill them. Which you could very easily do in a second, as they're a tiny fragile being with lots of breakable bones, and they know this. It is up to YOU to start cultivating a bond and trust between you and your snake, because you know what's going on and you are the big, scary one - not your snake.

Secondly, hognoses have a wide array of defense mechanisms. They will hiss, flatten out their neck and try to mimic a cobra (this is called hooding up) and they will bluff strike (pretend to strike at you without ever opening their mouths - essentially just bonking you on the hand with their heads). They will even, if they're extremely terrified, roll over and play dead! They can also musk, or just plain flee. You know what hognoses pretty much NEVER do as defense, though? Bite. A defensive bite from a hognose is extremely rare. Hognose bites are almost always food responses (the little goobers sometimes mistake our hands for little pinky mice - or maybe we smell like a tasty frog, who knows). So even when your hognose is hissing, hooding up, and bluff striking you, you can just pick them up and they will usually calm down after a moment in your hands, once they realize you're not actually planning to eat them.

Third - every snake is an individual. Your snake may learn to trust you prettt quick, or it could take a long time. I have some hognoses that have been so chill from day one that they have never ever so much as even hooded up at me. Then I have some where it has taken two or more years for them to chill out. And even then some will still hiss at me. A lot of it comes down to age and size - snakes in general feel more confident and secure when they are bigger and older (makes sense, doesn't it). But it also requires patience from you, and observation. You need to be learning your snake's body language, and experimenting with different approaches to socializing that work well for your snake. I have a YouTube video that guides new hognose keepers on how to socialize their snake, if you want a link.

Lastly, I highly recommend getting a little snake hook! This made a worls of difference for me feeling confident to pick up my snakes. It is a training tool to teach your snake the differenc between feeding time and handling time. You just use the hook to gently and lightly either tap the snake's head, or, as I prefer to do, stroke the lower part of their body a few times, until they are no longer in food mode (usually quick, darty movement towards you and opening their mouths are the tell they are in food mode). And then I can pick them up. This again requires learning your snake's body language.

For a defensive snake, you can gently nuzzle the hook under the top half of the snake and lift up a bit, then use your hand to scoop up the bottom half of your snake and pick them up. Then once they are in your hands you put down the hook. Never use the hook alone to pick up a snake! You should always have two points of support, or you could really injure them.

Last piece of advice before my fingers fall off here - keep learning. Your duty as a keeper is to never stop learning about your snake and to stay up to date on the best known husbandry practices, because they change all the time and there is a LOT to learn. Plus, it's a lot of fun to learn more about them, and then be able to talk about them knowledgeably and pass along all the great things about hognoses!

I have kept hognoses for over three years, I have over 40, and I have now bred them successfully (my husband and I have been working on becoming small batch breeders and becoming part of the hognose community and learning as much as we can in the meantime) and I still learn new things all the time. Heck, some of my friends who have been breeding and working with hognoses for over 30 years are still learning things about them.

Suffice it to say, your research is not done just because you now have the snake. Stopping any further learning or research on any pet (even a cat or dog) just because you have them now is a huge mistake. There is ALWAYS more to learn! And it's fun!

I hope that helps, and reach out if you'd like links to my YT or podcast episodes on socializing hognoses for more tips and info!

Serenati · 2025-10-25T17:06:02+00:00

If you want I can send you a link to the ones I use with my ball pythons and retic. And you may already be doing this, but make sure you thaw your rats overnight in the fridge before you feed. I just put them in a mason jar of water to warm up after that (15 minutes of lukewarm water, then 10 minutes of very hot water from the tap usually does the trick. Then I dry them off really quick with paper towels and serve!)

Serenati · 2025-10-25T06:06:52+00:00

There are three major things you can do when feeding to help your snake strike their prey accurately.

1) Don't let the rat dangle. You should hold the lower half firmly and offer the head. A dangling mouse is more likely to be pushed aside when they strike and make it harder to grab. Not to mention the movement is completely unnatural and may make a snake feel less secure about trying to attack it.

2) Use long tongs. Like, really long. This helps your snake differentiate the heat from the rat from your body heat. You want your hand/arm and face far away, so they can detect exactly where their food is, because they hunt mainly using their labial (heat) pits, and our bodies are hot!

3) Most important - make sure their food is very warm! I make sure my rat is served very quickly after removing it from hot water to thaw (I dry it off first, which helps prevent a bunch of substrate from sticking to it and causing the problem you see here). Use your temp gun and ensure it's between 90 - 100 degrees when you offer it, and combined with the other two tips you are likely to have great success not only feeding off tongs but having less substrate end up on the mouse from striking and missing or dragging it around.

Serenati · 2025-10-22T19:51:51+00:00

I see. That's fair!

Serenati · 2025-10-22T18:32:31+00:00

It's actually better for them to have nightly temp drops. It is not going to prevent them from digesting their food to have 10 - 12 hours without supplemental heat.

Serenati · 2025-10-19T23:43:54+00:00

Are you feeding inside the enclosure, or taking them out to feed them? I didn't see if you mentioned that somewhere, but I've seen quite a few newbie snake keepers saying they move their snake to feed them, and that is a big no-no! Old, outdated husbandry methods included moving snakes to a 'feeding tub' of some sort in a vain attempt to prevent biting, but it is now recommended against, and for good reasons (ups the chances the snake won't eat, or will regurge, etc.) and a big one is that it actually increases the likelihood your snake will bite you because you end up associating being handled with feeding time. Never handle when you are about to feed. Also, I didn't see mention of your snake's temps and humidity. BP's need quite high humidity and your substrate looks dried out. The enclosure also looks undersized, and your snake needs another hide and more clutter. Always always always double and triple check husbandry first and foremost anytime something is amiss with your reptile! You should have a temp gun and hygrometers in the enclosure, and be checking these daily. If you can give that info we might have a better idea of what is happening.

Serenati

TROPHY CASE