If you take a close look at a North American hognose snake, you will notice that it has round pupils rather than the typical slitted pupils most people expect from snakes. No, this doesn’t mean that they are nonvenomous. Round pupils actually indicate that hognose snakes are diurnal, meaning that they are awake during the day.
Because hognose snakes are diurnal, providing a source of light in the enclosure during the day is good for their mental health. For best results, use a timer to automatically turn them on and off. Standard practice is to create a day/night cycle of 12 hours on, 12 off.
If you would like to stimulate more natural behaviors, however, you can program your timer to mimic seasonal daylight as occurs in North America:
Do not place the enclosure directly in front of a window! The natural light may be tempting as a way to save electricity, but sunlight is well known to overheat reptile enclosures.
Because hognose snakes won’t die without UVB lighting, many say that it is not necessary for keeping them as pets. However, UVB is highly beneficial, as snakes can and do synthesize vitamin D3 from exposure to UVB wavelengths. Studies are finding that there are also other benefits which improve the snake’s overall wellbeing. Many keepers have observed more activity and overall better health in their snakes after adding UV lighting.
For these reasons ReptiFiles recommends providing UVB as part of your hognose snake’s setup. For more information, read my article, What is UVB, and Why is it Important to Reptile Husbandry?
As a fossorial species, hognose snakes are classified under Ferguson Zone 2, which means they should receive a maximum UVI of 2.0-3.0. The UVB should be roughly 1/2 to 2/3 of the terrarium’s length. So if your enclosure is 36″ long, then you will need an 18-24″ long bulb.
The strength of UVB that a reptile is exposed to depends on its distance from the bulb, so it’s very important to take distance into consideration when you’re installing the basking area. Specifically, you need to pay attention to the distance between the UVB bulb and the snake’s back when it’s on the basking surface:
Lamp mounted above mesh (recommended for safety):
Without mesh obstruction:
You will need to mount your UVB bulb in a Vivarium Electronics T5 HO or Arcadia ProT5 fixture. Optimal use distance is likely to be more variable if you use something different.
The above distance recommendations assume a ~35% mesh block. It is strongly recommended to use a Solarmeter 6.5 to determine the best placement whenever possible. For more details on adjusting basking distance based on mesh obstruction, see the Facebook group Reptile Lighting > Guides > Guide 1: Using T5-HO lamps above a Mesh Screen.
Your UVB will need to be changed every 12 months to remain effective, even if it still seems to be working.
Photo contributed by Krista Childers.