Baby Eastern Hognose Trouble

Question
We found a baby eastern hognose in our gravel drive way about 3 weeks ago on a warm day.  We brought it in the house to identify it.  The next day turned really cold.  We looked up its feeding habits and thought we would give it a shot and see if we could get this guy to eat (he was about 7 inches when we found him).  He still has not eaten or shed any skin.  Worried about him we went to our pet store and they said it was o.k. to let him go.  Fortunately, we had a 70 degree day about three days ago and thought we would let him go.  We found a spot by a pile of grass clippings and loosened the pile so he could escape and snuggle in easily.  He would not come out.  I scooted him out and put him in front of the pile and he quickly darted back in his home.  We had some things to do, so we left the container and him outside for three hours (until dark). We thought he might be afraid and did not want us watching him.  When we came home we picked up the container and brought it in.  We removed the content in the box to find him still inside.  He is very sweet.  He greats us in the morning when he hears us and the room he is in lights up with the morning sun and snuggles in at night when we go to bed. The only time he seems to get upset (flattens his head) is when I put a pinkie in front of him.  What should we do.  I do not want him to die.

Answer
Easterns usually feed on toads, so it is not surprising that he will not eat a pinky. I had almost the same situation with a rat snake a few weeks back. If I were you, I would go ahead and let him go. Wait over the next few days and pick the warmest one. Let him go mid morning and let him have a chance find a home in the woods. If you could get him to eat, i might advise differently, but the best thing to do is to let him go before he gets too weak from the lack of food.