Small colubrid snakes like the tricolor hognose are native to Bolivia, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Tricolor hognoses require little maintenance as long as they are kept in a tidy, hygienic environment.
Summary of Tricolor Hognose
Tricolor hognose is its common name
Xenodon pulcher is its scientific name
Natural settingArgentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia all have arid, sandy grasslands, shrublands, and savannahs.
18 to 24 inches for adults
an average of 7-8 years
Diet Carnivore
Housing 10 gallons minimum, 70 to 90 °F, and 60 to 65% humidity
Beginner-moderate level of experience
Origin
The tricolor hognose (Xenodon pulcher) is a species that is native to dry, sandy areas of South America. The snake is usually observed in savannahs, grasslands, and shrublands that are close to lakes or streams.
The snake has an upturned snout that helps it dig in sandy soil and burrow in large amounts of humus, and it is well adapted to living in its natural habitat.
Manifestation and conduct
Hognose appearance in tricolor
The tricolor hognose is a small, vibrant snake with a white or black head & bands across its body in black, red, and yellow or white from head to tail.
This species, which is also known as the false coral snake, shares the same hues and markings as the coral snake family.
The distinctive characteristic of the tricolor hognose is the rostral scale, or the plate on the tip of the snout. The name “hognose” is given to the snake by the way this scale is upturned, resembling a hog.
Tricolor hognoses and western hognoses are sometimes mistaken, although tricolor hognoses are smaller and thinner.
In comparison to males, females are bigger and have shorter, stubbier tails.
Size and Duration
A multicolored hognose’s typical length is 24 inches for females and 18 to 20 inches for males. Tricolor hognoses only live a few years. The average lifespan for both sexes is 8 years.
Temperament
A mild and cautious snake, the tricolor hognose is more likely to hide from possible predators than to strike out. The snake isn’t often hostile, but if you handle it, it could become defensive and bite until it realizes you’re not a threat.
If handled repeatedly, a snake will eventually become amiable and submissive.
Tricolor hognoses are solitary animals and like to live by themselves. If their surroundings don’t meet their demands or if they perceive threat, snakes become anxious.
Stress symptoms include refusing to eat, rubbing against things, hissing, or striking.
Tricolor Hognoses’ housing
Tropical and subtropical climates with dry, sandy areas are the tricolor hognose’s natural habitat. Provide a similarly dry, humid, sandy atmosphere in the enclosure to make sure the snake is at ease while it is in captivity.
For a multicolored hognose, a hardwood vivarium with adjustable vents to achieve ideal moisture levels is the best form of enclosure.
Hognose enclosure in tricolor
An enclosure that is at least 10 gallons in size, but preferably 20 gallons, is required for one adult tricolor hognose. The snake needs more horizontal than vertical room in the aquarium because it is a burrowing, terrestrial species.
An adult snake’s enclosure should be between 24 and 36 inches long, 12 to 18 inches deep, and 8 to 12 inches high.
Lighting
Tricolor hognoses may convert inert vitamin D3 to active vitamin D without UVB radiation. In confinement, UVB can still be employed to mimic natural sunshine.
Install a 2-5% UVB tube to the underside of the enclosure’s roof towards the back, making sure the snake can’t get within 12 inches of the light source.
To simulate a day-to-night cycle, leave the UVB lamp on for a 12-hour cycle and switch it off at night.
If the snake needs a break from UVB throughout the day, make sure there are places for it to hide around the cage.
Provide ambient, natural lighting in the space where the enclosure is maintained in addition to UVB lighting.
Thermodynamics and Humidity
The tricolor hognose can tolerate temperatures as high as 90°F in direct sunlight in the wild. Maintain this temperature in roughly one-third of the enclosure and keep the rest of the tank at a temperature of about 70°F so the snake may control its body temperature by moving around.
Install a basking lamp on the ceiling of the warm end of the enclosure to create this temperature gradient. To protect the snake from harm, surround the basking lamp with a guard and leave it on for 12 hours every day. Use a heat mat with an 80°F setting to keep the basking area warm over night.
A thermostat should be used to check the temperature at the hot and cold ends of the enclosure.
A humid habitat is preferred for tricolor hognoses. To keep the substrate’s humidity between 60 and 65%, put a sizable, shallow water bowl in the cage and mist it once or twice a day with room-temperature water.
To guarantee that the humidity remains constant throughout the day, use a hygrometer.
Create a humidity hide for the snake out of a small plastic tub filled with moisture-retaining sphagnum moss and a hole for it to enter. This will aid in the snake’s ability to shed safely.
Substance and Adornment
Line the container with a dust-free, hygienic substrate that won’t raise the relative humidity. Coarse beech woodchip is a reliable, hygienic, and economical option. To achieve a more natural look, combine a soil-clay mixture with sand for aeration
To give the snake warm places to rest, scatter large, flat rocks and slate throughout the basking area. Artificial decorations, such as caves and castles, can be utilized to enhance the tank’s appearance and give the snake places to hide and rest.
Make sure the decorations are substantial and the snake cannot move them.
Although ferns and ficus plants make excellent foliage choices for the tank, plants are not required if you want to maintain a low-maintenance enclosure.
Cleaning
Tricolor hognose snakes prefer a tidy setting. Spot-clean the tank once a day, replace any substrate that has become contaminated, and perform a thorough deep clean every four weeks.
Moving the snake to a different enclosure is the first step towards a deep clean. Take everything out of the dwelling enclosure. Clean the base and walls of the enclosure with a disinfectant safe for reptiles or warm, soapy water, and then dry it with a fresh paper towel.
Refresh the substrate layer on the enclosure floor. The ornaments should be washed in warm water, dried, and put back in the tank.
Use of bleach or other chemical cleaning agents could damage the snake’s respiratory system
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Tricolor Hognose Care
Eating Tricolor Hognose
Tricolor hognoses require routine feeding, a clean tank, and a steady supply of freshwater. Taking care of these shakes is simple.
Water and Food
Feed mice as the tricolor hognoses’ main food source. One defrosted pinky mouse should be offered to young snakes every four to five days. Feed the snakes one large mouse every one to two weeks after they are six months old.
Don’t feed your snake more frequently than this to avoid obesity.
If your snake won’t eat mice, try gerbils, multimammate mice, or chicks as an alternative. Use tongs to safely feed the snakes because tricolor hognoses have a strong feeding reaction.
Set up a medium- or large-sized shallow water bowl on the enclosure’s cold side to serve as a consistent source of hygienic water. Once every day, empty the bowl and replace it with fresh water.
Handling
The placid tricolor hognose snake responds well to gentle treatment. Two or three times a week, spend up to five minutes handling your snake.
The hognose may initially view you as a threat, become anxious, and attempt to bite you or flee. Put the snake back in its enclosure and try again the following day if this occurs. The snake will eventually get habituated to your touch.
The snake becomes stressed when handled excessively or improperly, such by being squeezed, handled just before or just after it sheds its skin, or restrained in any way.
Before allowing kids to handle a snake, be sure they are properly trained to do so.
Typical Health Problems
Tricolor hognoses are robust, healthy snakes, although neglect can cause blister illness and parasite disorders.
Pestilential Illnesses
Poor hygiene leads to contaminated environments, which in turn breeds parasitic disorders such as internal parasites (like worms and coccidia) and external parasites (like mites and ticks).
The symptoms of parasite diseases include difficulty breathing, regurgitation, diarrhea, itching, anemia, and oral infections. Ask your veterinarian for antiparasitic drugs to cure parasites, then deep clean the entire tank to get rid of an infestation.
Bleeding Disorder
Vesicular dermatitis, often known as blister disease, is a skin illness that results in blistering and lesions. When the substrate is excessively wet or the enclosure’s humidity levels are too high, this infection develops.
The sickness can be lethal if untreated. Utilize the antibiotics your veterinarian has prescribed to treat blister illness, and make sure the substrate isn’t very wet.
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Breeding
In captivity, tricolor hognoses are simple to reproduce. Snakes mature sexually between 18 and 24 months of age.
Follow these instructions to breed a male and a female tricolor hognose:
Create a breeding cage that holds 20–30 gallons. Decorate the enclosure to match the snakes’ living spaces, use one paper towel as a substrate to keep humidity levels high, and include a nesting box with a moist soil mixture so the female may place her eggs in it. The enclosure should be large enough for the woman to turn around completely in.
Set up a male and female adult snake pair in the enclosure. The snakes should reproduce naturally and remain united for several hours while the male fertilizes the female’s eggs if they are healthy and sexually mature.
The nesting box is where the female will place her eggs. The eggs should be incubated in a box with an incubator at 84°F.
About 60 days will pass before the eggs hatch. The parents can be returned to their home tanks right away because the hatchlings are independent of birth.
Once they begin to shed, about a week after hatching, remove the hatchlings from the incubator box and keep them in the breeding tank.
After the first shed, split the hatchlings into cages and feed them every five days with thawed pinkie mice.
How to Select and Purchase a Tricolor Hognose
A multicolored hognose typically costs between $200 and $450. Snakes in captivity are uncommon.
Tricolor hognoses are offered for sale by reptile breeders and in select retail pet stores. Before making a purchase from a breeder, make sure the snakes are being bred responsibly by asking questions and demanding to see the snake in person.
Look for the snake’s smooth, shiny scales, clear, attentive eyes, and regular feeding habits as indicators of its health. A snake with lesions, sores, redness, difficult breathing, hazy eyes, or any other symptoms of illness shouldn’t be purchased.
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