I finally got my hoggie!!! Introducing Cyrano de Hogerac

[sweet~nichole~marie]

Ok, ever since Lolo posted pics of Charlotte, I have not been able to get hoggies off my mind. I've been talking with breeders and owners, reading about them on the internet, dreaming.

After holding Nancy's (nlt7) I decided I definitely needed one. My mission - find a hatchling at the upcoming Portland Expo or order one off the internet.

I got to the Expo, took a tour and only found one '07 adult. Dang it, I really wanted a hatchling.

Ok, one more spin around, maybe I missed one or they hadn't been put out yet.

Not seeing one yet . . .. dang it, dang it, dang it. Boa table, Boa table, Corn table, Geckos . . . Hmmm, this table has a wide variety. "Excuse me, do you have any baby hognoses, by any chance"

And then, the magic words - - - "Why yes, we have 2"

Yippie-skippie :dancer: :crazy02: :dancer:

1 normal male Western Hognose - YES!!! I can go home happy.

So, without further ado, I give you Cyrano de Hogerac, little hognose monster (see further down for reason why)!

Checking out the new digs. He was really thirsty when I put him in!

Hmmm, I think I like it here

Tongue shot:

Look at that belly!

I love his nose. It is the cutest!

And the reason why he is a MONSTER!

He bit me!!!! Twice! And it HURT!!! Their fangs are freakin' sharp!!!!

Haha, but I love him anyway. But, man, is he clumsy. He has slid off my hand twice. He doesn't wrap his tail around my fingers to anchor himself like corns do, so I have to really watch him, but he is a cutie. (He just landed on the sofa, so no worries)

He is currently sitting in my shirt, with his head hanging out, chilling. OMGosh, I love him and I am so glad I got one . . . . even if he did bite me

Oh, and the reddish brown color is more accurate than the gray brown in some of the pics.

 

[ZoologyGirl]

love the snake. Love the name :laugh:

 

[pridecity]

I was about this close: | | to buying one today! Please keep us updated on what you think about owning one.

 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Did you have any itching or redness/swelling after he bit?

Also dang you're lucky... After I get my rosy, my last desired snake is a beautiful western hognose boy...

 

[ceduke]

He's soooo cute!! I'm enjoying my new hoggie too.

 

[vetusvates]

Cute little bugger.

 

[K. Rene]

Congrats! glad you found something you couldn't live without!

 

[CALIVIK]

They're really adorable! That bite looks like it hurt! OUCH! He's such a little guy w/ a power punch! lol Congats!

 

[DeadMouse]

Congratulations! I told you that you would find one there.

One thing you have to know about hognose, he is not clumsy per se, it's just that hognose are not constrictors like most colubrids such as corns and kings are. Therefore, they do not constrict or use their tail in such a fashion as to really climb that much. That's not to say that they won't try to hold onto something as best as they can, it's just that they aren't long and sleek like a corn snake is, so they don't have as much body to really wrap around with.

BTW, how was the show? Did I miss anything? Was it busy? I'm on a graveyard shift, so I didn't wake up til almost 5pm anyways. Not like I would have been able to make it even if I wanted to.

 

[Momto3boys]

Ohhhhh he is CUTE!!

I just love their noses, congrats on the new baby.

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

Thanks everyone! I am so happy with him. I know I should let him settle in, but I keep taking him out just to marvel at his little nose. I love him little inchworm movements.

love the snake. Love the name :laugh:

Thanks I was laughing as I named him

Did you have any itching or redness/swelling after he bit?

Also dang you're lucky... After I get my rosy, my last desired snake is a beautiful western hognose boy...

Slight itching just for a minute, no redness/swelling.

I have been wanting one for months. I am so glad I found one. He is living out in the living room, instead of the snake room, so I can watch him to my heart's content.

They're really adorable! That bite looks like it hurt! OUCH! He's such a little guy w/ a power punch! lol Congats!

I was surprised how much I felt his fang, for such a little guy. It was really interesting though. He didn't rear back and strike like a corn would, he just casually opened his mouth and started gnawing on my finger. At first it didn't hurt, but then he worked my finger far enough back to get me with his fangs . . . then I felt it! ~LOL~ What a goof.

Congratulations! I told you that you would find one there.

One thing you have to know about hognose, he is not clumsy per se, it's just that hognose are not constrictors like most colubrids such as corns and kings are. Therefore, they do not constrict or use their tail in such a fashion as to really climb that much. That's not to say that they won't try to hold onto something as best as they can, it's just that they aren't long and sleek like a corn snake is, so they don't have as much body to really wrap around with.

BTW, how was the show? Did I miss anything? Was it busy? I'm on a graveyard shift, so I didn't wake up til almost 5pm anyways. Not like I would have been able to make it even if I wanted to.

Thanks! Yeah, I have to keep an eye on him. I am used to the way corns move, and it just surprised me!

I was going to ask you, why does he sometimes dig his nose back and forth into my hand? Is he thinking about biting me again? His nose is really sharp. I has surprised I could feel it scraping across my hand.

The show was really busy. There were lots of boas - some really amazing colors. A decent number of corns this time. Lots of crested geckos, leopards, bearded dragons, uromastyx babies which were so cute and tempting! tarantulas ~shudder~ the tiniest baby turtles (smaller than a quarter!) various kinds of kings, the cutest baby rosy boas . . . I'm trying to think of the more unusual snakes I saw . . . . it all tends to blend together ~LOL~ Oh, some axolotls that I really want for my classroom. A table of carnivorous plants - I got 3 for my classroom, yeah! The poison dart frogs. Oh, a few really cool frilled dragons. A super bright day gecko - holy cow it was green! I should have taken pictures of everything! But there were so many people, it was hard to move around sometimes ~LOL~

 

[Irish Eyes (Mrs.Z)]

What a cute little monster! I love his wicked black tongue . I, too, loved that bright green day gecko, as well as the jewel-like poison dart frogs. I LOVED the axolotls and would have brought one home, but FORTY DOLLARS?! They must have gone up in price since the last time I bought one for about $10! Since we were on a very strict budget, there were a lot of fellows I just couldn't have, and that includes the axolotls, some corn snake morphs, and a BRB. I couldn't believe that the pet store owner (House of Reptiles booth) had actually raised the retail price of the BRB he brought in by $30. P'd me off, so I won't be buying it from his store, either. Seems like a rather greedy thing to do.

Some of the most fascinating snakes, to me, at least, were the carpet pythons and Irian Jayas. I was tempted by one of those, but I haven't studied up on them, and don't know what kind of environment they need. I didn't feel comfortable buying one on impulse and not knowing what I was getting myself into.

I also loved looking at some of the bigger snake species--the anaconda and a reticulated python, as well as some burmese pythons. Just exactly the kinds of snakes I'd never want to own--but they sure are interesting to look at!

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

Thanks, Irish! I love his black tongue also

Ok, I took a quick video of the nose rubbing. Maybe Troy (or someone else familiar with hoggies) can tell me what the heck he is doing??? Is he trying to dig into my hand? His nose is really sharp! It is out of focus (I think my point and shoot video feature doesn't do macro ) but you can still see what he is doing

 

[DeadMouse]

I was surprised how much I felt his fang, for such a little guy. It was really interesting though. He didn't rear back and strike like a corn would, he just casually opened his mouth and started gnawing on my finger. At first it didn't hurt, but then he worked my finger far enough back to get me with his fangs . . . then I felt it! ~LOL~ What a goof.

Yeah, they definitely have sharp fangs as I've been bitten half a dozen times myself. The one thing is though, hognose do not seem to bite out of aggression like most other snakes do. When you get bit it's usually a feeding response; either he was very hungry or you had something on your finger that might have smelled edible to him. Believe me, you'll know it when he's upset as hognose will rear up and hood out like a cobra. If that doesn't scare you away, then they'll also hiss and it's usually a really scary sounding hiss too. If you still aren't dissuaded and reach in, at most you are going to get a head butt strike and more hissing but I've never ever had one bite along with a strike, it's always a closed mouth strike.

I was going to ask you, why does he sometimes dig his nose back and forth into my hand? Is he thinking about biting me again? His nose is really sharp. I has surprised I could feel it scraping across my hand.

Well, hognose have that cute little upturned nose for a reason, they are diggers and that nose is their little shovel. More than likely he was trying to burrow into you maybe hoping to get a little private time.

One thing to be aware of though, when they shed they sometimes can't get that nose tip off. If this happens, make sure you really soften it up by misting it and then you can easily pop it off but don't force it if it's not soft enough to easily come off.

The show was really busy. There were lots of boas - some really amazing colors. A decent number of corns this time. Lots of crested geckos, leopards, bearded dragons, uromastyx babies which were so cute and tempting! tarantulas ~shudder~ the tiniest baby turtles (smaller than a quarter!) various kinds of kings, the cutest baby rosy boas . . . I'm trying to think of the more unusual snakes I saw . . . . it all tends to blend together ~LOL~ Oh, some axolotls that I really want for my classroom. A table of carnivorous plants - I got 3 for my classroom, yeah! The poison dart frogs. Oh, a few really cool frilled dragons. A super bright day gecko - holy cow it was green! I should have taken pictures of everything! But there were so many people, it was hard to move around sometimes ~LOL~

Sounds like it was a real zoo in regards to both animals AND people. They honestly need to move to a bigger venue considering how much attention this show now draws. The last couple of times I went I really didn't enjoy myself as I don't really like feeling like a sardine being jammed in a room with a lot of other people just trying to squeeze by. I'm surprised the fire marshalls haven't stopped by to limit the amount of people in that room.

BTW, I hate to burst your bubble on your hognose but he's definitely not a hatchling. Depending on how much they've been feeding him, I would say that he's at least a year old if not maybe closer to 2 (unless of course your hands are really super dainty and I'm getting the wrong impression of his size). He's still a good looking hognose though and I hope you get lots of enjoyment out of him.

PS. Don't be alarmed when he decides to go on a hunger strike. Male hognose are prone to doing this seasonally and it can last anywhere from 1-3 months, sometimes even longer. It's usually a mating thing and typically during this time they are usually more active than other times. So don't be alarmed, it's all part of the weird world of hognose.

 

[Old_School]

Thanks, Irish! I love his black tongue also

Ok, I took a quick video of the nose rubbing. Maybe Troy (or someone else familiar with hoggies) can tell me what the heck he is doing??? Is he trying to dig into my hand? His nose is really sharp! It is out of focus (I think my point and shoot video feature doesn't do macro ) but you can still see what he is doing

Hoggies love to burrow... that is all he is trying to do... be sure and give him plenty of substrate so he can enjoy burrowing... good luck!

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

Yes, it was more like a curious feeding response - like "Hmmm, is this edible?" He just sort of opened his mouth and tried to swallow my finger. He has not done that today, though!

Oh, really? 1-2 years old??? Holy cow. I have no idea what size a hatchling should be. I was comparing him to corns, in my head, I guess. He is approx. 19g. Well, that is ok. I love him anyway. I think I wanted a young one just because I didn't want an adult that hadn't been handled much and was aggressive. He seems fine with coming out with me so I am happy with him. Ah well, live and learn ~LOL~ Maybe it is better that he is older so I don't have any many feeding problems with him

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

Thanks, Old School. He has a thick layer of aspen and has already made lots of tunnels in it

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

Ok, more Cyrano pics!!! I have to warn everyone - I will probably be posting lots of pics because I am totally enamored with him ~LOL~

His tank:

Checking out his tubes

Exploring the couch

Love the nose!!!

 

[marshaelaine]

He is absolutely the cutest snake that I have ever seen - OH! NO! last year when my son brought home his new corn from the expo, I loved him. I now have 22 corns, as soon as my peppermint and avalanche pair get here in a few days. I had never owned a snake before.
Congrats Nichole,
mom

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

Ha, admit it, Mom. You are thinking of getting a hoggie now, too. I am such a corrupting influence!