Snakes are everywhere and they come in many different colors and detailed designs when you take a closer look at them. Their scales, random and organized patterns, and beady eyes can make all the difference between snakes.
Take a baby Hognose Snake for example; this slithering reptile is often patterned with large, rectangular patterns along their back, their tail is keeled, it come in many colors like brown, yellow, grey or black, and has an upward pointed nose, hence, the “hognose” snake.
Such an interesting snake tends to have reasons as to why it looks the way it does; so, let’s find out more about baby Hognose snakes.
Things to Look for in Identifying a Baby Hognose Snake
To start, baby Hognose snakes have oblong rectangular patterns along the scales of its body that can come in many different colors based on where the Hognose resides.
They tend to range between 20 and 30 inches long with a moderately thick body, and when they feel threatened, they have a habit of flattening their neck to appear bigger.
The most identifiable trait about Hognose snakes is their noses; it tends to resemble a snout that is permanently stuck in the air. If you happen to notice any of these traits, there’s a good chance that you are in the presence of a baby Hognose snake.
Baby Hognose Snake Coloring
Because they are spaced out across various lands, the scales and body can come in a variety of colors. Their body itself can be black, brown, tan, white, grey, and even pink!
Their scales are usually the same color of a darker hue to contrast against their body, and can also range in color from dark brown, orange, black and grey as well.
These color patterns come in handy when the Hognose snake is trying to camouflage to avoid predators or blend in to sneak on their prey and attack them. Their color will stay that way for their entire life and will not vary much from what you see when they are a baby.
Are Baby Hognose Snakes Poisonous?
To be clear, baby Hognose snakes are poisonous towards smaller mammals and not to humans.
Baby Hognose snakes carry a small amount of poison in their saliva since they do not have hollow fangs to store poison in like their counterpart snake, the Viper, or other venomous snakes, but it isn’t enough to disturb the bodily functioning of a human.
Therefore, for human beings, baby Hognose snakes are not considered poisonous. However, for smaller mammals such as baby birds, frogs, or large insects, the saliva is potent enough to immobilize them and allow your baby Hognose to have a satisfying and filling meal.
Is a Baby Hognose Snake More Poisonous than an Adult Snake?
No, a baby Hognose snake is not more poisonous than their adult counterpart. When Hognose snakes are young, their poison is developed within their saliva a little after their hatching and continues to become a bit more poisonous as it grows.
The poison is still the same yet becomes more concentrated over time. By the time the baby is a maturely grown Hognose adult snake, the toxicity of their poison has become more potent, although it is still considered a “mild” toxicity.
What Do Baby Hognose Snakes Eat?
Whether the baby Hognose snake lives in the wild or in your home, their diet doesn’t change.
Baby Hognose snakes in the wild have a diet that consists of small rodents like mice or baby squirrels, amphibians such as frogs and aquatic lizards like Salamanders and Newts, as well as the eggs of ground nesting animals such as that of birds or other bigger mammals.
While in captivity, they can eat the same animals if you provide them for it, and they are also known to be able to enjoy a frozen/thawed or pre-killed diet. Frozen mice are a go-to fast food for baby Hognose snakes and are known to satisfy them for days.
Can a Baby Hognose Snake Hurt You?
Technically, no, a baby Hognose snake will not harm you. First, they are too small to try to attempt to strangle your body and end your life – maybe a finger, but not your body.
Second, baby hognose snakes have no teeth, therefore, they cannot technically bite you because there is nothing sharp in their mouth that can eject venom; it has more like your finger is simply in their mouth.
Third, as mentioned before, the saliva from a baby Hognose is poisonous, but it mainly affects other small creatures like itself, without much effect on humans. Therefore, a baby Hognose snake is virtually harmless for human beings.
How Long Can a Baby Hognose Snake Go Without Eating?
A baby Hognose snake has a resilience towards eating when it doesn’t have to, which is a natural mechanism for most mammals and reptiles. Because of this, a baby Hognose snake can go approximately 1 month without eating.
When they are young, they don’t have to eat big and heavy as much, seeing that a small mammal, like a mouse, is more than satisfactory to provide them with the animal protein and nutrients that they need to survive.
Their digestion can take days or even weeks to fully breakdown the animal that they ingested, which is why they can go so long without eating.
How Often Do Baby Hognose Snakes Eat?
Sure, once they are fed, they can go at least a month without eating, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t hungry.
In the wild, baby Hognose snakes eat about once every two weeks; but when you feed them as a caregiver, they can eat once every week, or every 7 to 10 days. This is because they are babies and are required to eat more than the average Hognose snake.
If you attempt to feed your baby Hognose snake and it doesn’t take the meal, that’s an indication that it is still full ofits last meal, and you can simply remove it from its snake pit.
How Fast Do Baby Hognose Snakes Grow?
Baby Hognose snakes grow fast when they have the proper resources and diet to support them.
Most Hognose snakes can be between 8 and 12 inches within the first year of their life; this growth is based mainly on the nutritional value that the snake is eating and how much of it they are eating.
Within their second year of life, baby Hognose snakes are practically full grown, more than doubling in size to approximately 2 ½ to 3 feet in length.
As they continue to eat and grow, they will begin to enter sexual maturity, which furthers their growth with evidence of more weight with wider and denser muscles.
Do Baby Hognose Snakes Have Teeth?
You may or may not know this by now, by no, baby Hognose snakes do not have teeth. Teeth are not naturally designed within the physical creation of the Hognose snake and is one of their defining features to tell them apart from other snakes.
The mouth of a baby Hognose snake is simply filled with their tongue and their venom-filled saliva. Their mouth is simply used for ingesting food, while their tongue helps them to sense heat and find their prey.
Although there are many compensations for the functionality of the mouth of a Hognose snake, chewing is not one of them since they have no teeth.
What Size Tank Does a Baby Hognose Snake Need?
When they are adults, your Hognose snake will require a 20-gallon tank; but as a youngster, a baby Hognose snake is required to have a 5-gallon tank, at the very least.
The reason for such a big tank for such a small animal is growth. Your Hognose snake will only grow based on the size of its container; and if the tank is small, then your Hognose snake will have a challenging time becoming their full physical potential.
It’s best practice to ensure that your baby Hognose has ample amount of space to slither and rest, and a 5-gallon tank usually does the trick.
At What Age are Baby Hognose Snakes Full Grown?
Males baby Hognose snakes can be considered full grown once they have reached sexual maturity, which is around one year of life.
This process happens rapidly, and their body will increase in length, weight and overall muscle size. For female Hognose snakes, the process doubles in time, taking them about 2 years to reach sexual maturity and become full grown.
By this time, they are ready to accept a mate and procreate since their body is bigger and more suitable for egg creation.
How Much Do Baby Hognose Snakes Cost?
Baby Hognose snakes can cost between 300 and 700 dollars on average. The price is based on the type of Hognose snake you want, its size and traits, the region from which it’s coming from, as well as breeder fees.
For newly born Hognoses, you can haggle the price down to about 200, and expect to pay at most 1,000 for the specialized morphs of baby Hognose snakes.
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