Hognose snakes can be considered as one of the best pet snakes that don’t get too big and can make a good pet for both beginners and experts. Hognose snakes are known for their handleability, ease of care, and low-cost maintenance. Some tips like how long they get at different stages of their life and how much time it takes them to grow may come in handy if you are getting one for yourself. Here is what you need to know
How big do hognose snakes get? Adult hognose snakes range from 12 to 36 inches long. Where the male hognose snakes grow to a length of 13 to 24 inches, and the female hognose snakes reach a length of 18 to 36 inches. It usually takes a hognose snake 2.5 to 4 years to reach its full length.
The hognose snakes do not acquire a great amount of length. Instead, they have a relatively smaller and thicker bodies.
The length and the growth rate of the hognose snakes depend upon the diet, subspecies, gender, and habitat.
Generally, a Female hognose snake gets longer and weighs more than a male hognose. The same variation can be seen in the subspecies of hognose snakes, where the eastern hognose snakes are the biggest and the southern hognose snakes are the smallest in size.
The growth rate in the hognose snake is considerably faster when they are young and it slowly declines as they get older.
The growth rate of a hognose snake can range from 20 mm per month when they are a Hatchling to 5 mm when they get 4 years old. Where the female shows a faster metabolic growth rate as compared to the male hognose snakes.
To get you a more detailed view of how big do hognose snake gets at different stages of life I have shared a detailed Size chart of a hognose snake that can help you.
Size Chart of a Western Hognose Snake according to their age.
The diet of the snake, gender, subspecies, and habitat have a great impact on the development of the hognose snakes.
The growth rate of every individual snake will varies from the other. I have mentioned the average size a western hognose snake will get at a particular age.
| Age of Western Hognose Snake | Size of a Western Hognose Snake |
|---|---|
| Hatchling | 5 to 7 Inch (128 mm to 167 mm) |
| 9 Months | 8 to 12 Inch (197 mm to 296 mm) |
| 21 Months | 12 to 16 Inch (282 mm to 398 mm) |
| 33 Months | 13 to 18 Inch (330 mm to 451 mm) |
| 45 Months | 14 to 20 Inch (360 mm to 490 mm) |
The growth rate of the hognose snakes slows down but they never stop growing.
The average male western hognose snakes can reach up to 24 inches while the female western hognose snakes can go up to 28 to 36 inches in size.
As there are many subspecies like an eastern hognose and southern hognose snake that are found in different lengths as compared to the most commonly kept pet snake species, the western hognose. A huge size variation could be seen among these subspecies.
Size Chart of an Eastern Hognose Snake according to their age.
As eastern hognose snakes are getting into the pet industry due to their wild attributes. I have mentioned below the table showing how big eastern hognose snakes get and how long it takes them to grow.
| Age of an Eastern Hognose Snake | Size of an Eastern Hognose Snake |
|---|---|
| Hatchling | 7 to 9 Inch (176 mm to 211 mm) |
| 9 Months | 11 to 15 Inch (269 mm to 385 mm) |
| 21 Months | 18 to 22 Inch (454 mm to 567 mm) |
| 33 Months | 22 to 25 Inch (540 mm to 630 mm) |
| 45 Months | 23 to 27 Inch (592 mm to 685 mm) |
Here it turns out that Eastern hognose snakes get the biggest as compared to western and southern hognose snakes.
Where a male eastern hognose can reach up to 27 to 36 inches and a female eastern hognose can reach up to 48 inches in size.
Among the hognose snake species, the Madagascar hognose snakes are the biggest subspecies growing to the size of more than 6 feet (72 inches).
While talking about the growth rate of a western hognose snake you can find a lot of things to look after if you have got one of them as a pet. To dig down more I have further discussed the growth rate of a western hognose snake.
How Fast do western hognose snakes grow?
There is a considerable difference between the growth rate of a female western hognose snake and a male western hognose snake.
When born as a hatchling the female western hognose snake seems to be quite large and weighs more than the male.
And grows up to half of their initial size in the first two-month period. Whereas the male grows up to one-third of their initial size.
The growth of both the male and female hognose snake occurs rapidly in the first 2 years.
However, the availability of food and habitat plays an important role in the growth rate of the snake.
Here I have mentioned below the table consisting of the growth rate of a male western hognose snake.
| Age | Growth rate per month (Male) | Growth rate per month (Female) |
|---|---|---|
| Hatchling to 9 Months | 20 mm | 29 mm |
| 21 Months | 19 mm | 23 mm |
| 33 Months | 16 mm | 17 mm |
| 45 Months | 4 mm | 7 mm |
As shown in the table above the growth rate of males and females varies over the course of their life. As the length of the hognose snakes increases their growth rate declines.
And in terms of weight, an average male western hognose snake weighs 3 to 5 grams when it is born, and weighs between 80 to 160 grams as a full-grown adult.
Whereas a female western hognose snake weighs 7 to 9 grams when it is born and reaches between 150 to 370 grams as a full-grown adult.
This data can vary a bit if the snake is being in captivity. Under suitable conditions in the enclosure, the hognose snake can show significant growth.
So as of now, you know how big hognose snakes get and how long it takes them to grow. It is essential to know how to set up a tank for your pet hognose snake to avail them to grow to their full size.
Tank Setup for Hognose snakes
Setting up a tank for a hognose snake relatively depends upon its size.
If you are having a male western hognose snake then you will need a much smaller space as compared to the female western hognose snake or an easter hognose snake.
Here I have mentioned below the tank size you should get for your Hognose snake according to their subspecies and gender.
Tank Size for Hognose Snake
If you are having a hatchling of a hognose snake, then a tank size of 5 to 8 gallons will be more than sufficient.
As the offspring of all the species of hognose snakes lies between 5 to 9 inches. A tank size of 5 to 8 gallons is adequate.
For a 9-month-old hognose snake that ranges between 8 to 15 inches. A tank size of 10 to 15 gallons will be sufficient for them.
If you are having a male western or eastern hognose snake having a length between 14 to 24 inches. Then a tank size of 20 gallons would be needed for your pet snake to move freely.
Here the biggest tank size would be acquired by the female hognose snake. As the length of a female hognose snake( for both easter and western hognose) lies between 28 to 36 inches they need a tank size of a minimum of 40 gallons.
In case if you do not know the size of your pet hognose snake or if they are male or female. Then you can simply follow a general rule of thumb while buying a tank for your pet snake.
Length of the Tank= Length of Snake
Width of Tank = Half the length of the Snake
Height of Tank = Half the length of the Snake
This is an average ratio you can use while selecting a tank for your pet snake. However, if your hognose snake is provided with sufficient spots to hide and the right substrate. You can seamlessly go for a 40 gallons tank for the hatchling of a hognose snake.
Habitat
Hognose snakes tend to live in a dried-up soil surface with a dispersed vegetative grassland as these factors provide the ease of burrowing. So it is much preferable to provide them with a similar substrate such as Aspen as it allows the hognose snake to burrow and make tunnels.
Temperature and Light
Hognose snakes are diurnal snakes hence they are most active during the daytime. Thus you must provide them with a basking spot and a day and night cycle for the snake in their vivarium. As they are found mostly active between 27 to 35 C you must set the temperature of the vivarium accordingly.
Related Question
How big do western hognose snakes get?
An adult western hognose snake can range from 14 to 36 inches or 3 to 4 feet. Where the male reaches a length of 14 inches and a female can grow up to 36 inches. When born, a western hognose snake gets to a length of 5 to 9 inches.