Julija, our Arctic Conda western hognose, ate consistently for years while slowly losing weight despite normal test results. Her eventual diagnosis — lymphoplasmacytic enteritis with cachexia — came too late to treat. This is her story, and what it taught us about the limits of reptile medicine.
Hopper, one of our 2025 hognose hatchlings, refused every feeding attempt for three full months. Here's what prolonged feeding refusal looks like, what we tried, and the accidental discovery that finally got her eating.
Western hognose snakes don't constrict and don't kill their prey before eating it. They strike and swallow — sometimes accurately, sometimes not. If you've ever watched a hognose confidently miss a dead mouse held directly in front of its face, you already understand why a live one would be a very different problem.
After mold, two lost eggs, and months of uncertainty about the father, Bajsa's 2025 clutch hatched on July 14th. The first hatchling solved the paternity mystery instantly: these are Hoggy's babies, his first ever clutch.
Bajsa laid her eggs on day 65 while we were away — and by morning had eaten the ones we didn't get to in time. Here's how we handled the egg transfer, what candling showed us, and what we're watching for across the ten eggs now incubating.
Just brought home a new western hognose snake? Here's exactly what to do first — quarantine setup, why you shouldn't handle yet, when to attempt the first feeding, how to keep the setup right, and what settled behavior actually looks like.
