A log shaped around a burrowing, bluffing snake
A hog-nosed snake spends much of its life tunnelling through loose substrate, so a useful log records behaviour as carefully as meals. Start each entry with whether the snake was seen cruising, buried with only its upturned snout showing, or hiding after a bluff display. Note hissing, hood flattening or playing dead when the enclosure was opened, because a hog-nosed snake that performed at feeding time often refuses even when it is hungry. Dating those observations lets you separate a dramatic feeding response from a genuine loss of appetite when you look back over several weeks of care.
Feeding entries that capture refusals honestly
Feeding records matter more for a hog-nosed snake than for almost any other pet snake, because this species is known for stubborn fasts and for preferring strongly scented prey. For every offer, write the prey type and size, whether it was scented and with what, how it was presented, and the exact outcome: eaten promptly, taken after being left overnight, investigated and left, or ignored entirely. Record weight at regular intervals on the same entry line as appetite, since steady weight during a fast tells a very different story from steady weight loss. Avoid logging a refusal as a problem on its own; the pattern across a month is the information.
Shed notes for a snake that hides away
A hog-nosed snake often stays buried and quiet before a shed, so the first sign in the log may be missed meals and cloudy eyes rather than visible skin. Record when the eyes turn milky, when they clear again, and the date the shed is found, usually as a crumpled skin in the substrate or water bowl. Check the shed for the tail tip and eye caps, and write down whether it came away in one piece or in fragments. Note any extra humidity you provided, such as a damp hide, because a complete shed that followed a humidity change confirms what this individual snake needs next time.
Temperatures above and below the substrate
Temperature logging for a hog-nosed snake has to include the burrow layer, since the snake chooses its warmth underground rather than on display. Record the warm-side surface reading, the temperature just under the substrate on that side, and the cool-end reading, always in the same order. Add a note when deep substrate is replaced or a heat source is adjusted, because fresh, deeper bedding insulates differently and can shift the burrow temperature even when the thermostat setting is unchanged. A snake that suddenly stays on the surface may be telling you the buried warm spot has drifted too hot or too cool.
Using a hognose log to judge a fast
Read a hog-nosed snake log in stretches, not single entries, before worrying about appetite. A seasonal fast with stable weight, normal burrowing and a clean shed is a pattern to monitor, while weight loss, repeated incomplete sheds, wheezing or prolonged lethargy on the surface are reasons to contact a reptile vet promptly. Take the full record along so the vet can see scenting attempts and temperature stability rather than hearing only that the snake has not eaten. Filing those stretches in KinsLe within Pet Passport preserves this hog-nosed snake's feeding quirks, sheds and burrow readings as one continuous history for future care.