Eastern Hognose Snake
Heterodon platirhinos • Colubridae (Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Dipsadinae, Genus: Heterodon, Species: Heterodon platirhinos)
Eastern North America, ranging from southern Ontario and New Hampshire, south to Florida, and west to Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas.
Look up Eastern Hognose Snake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Colubridae (Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Dipsadinae, Genus: Heterodon, Species: Heterodon platirhinos)
Conservation
Least Concern (IUCN). However, local populations face declines due to habitat loss, road mortality, and human persecution due to being misidentified as venomous vipers.
Physical Description
Highly variable species. This specimen exhibits a greyish-brown ground color with dark square-like dorsal blotches, heavily keeled dorsal scales, a stout body, a distinctly upturned snout (rostral scale), and a flattened neck displaying defensive neck-hooding.
Size & Dimensions
Specimen appears to be an adult around 20 to 28 inches (50-70 cm) long. Species averages 20-30 inches (50-76 cm), with exceptional individuals reaching up to 45 inches (115 cm).
Habitat
Prefers areas with sandy, loose soils suitable for burrowing, such as open woodlands, pine-oak forests, coastal dunes, fields, and agricultural edges.
Diet & Feeding
Specialized toad eater (toads of the genus Anaxyrus/Bufo). Uses rear enlarged teeth to puncture inflated toads and enlarged adrenal glands to tolerate toad toxins (bufotoxins). Occasionally eats frogs, salamanders, and small mammals.
Reproduction
Oviparous. Females lay clutches of 8 to 40 eggs in sandy soil or under rotting wood during early summer. Eggs hatch in late summer to early autumn.
Look-alikes
Frequently confused with venomous Pygmy Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus miliarius) or Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) due to stout body shape and neck flattening display. Distinguished by the distinctly upturned rostral scale ('hog nose') and lack of heat-sensing pits or rattles.
Conservation Status
Least Concern (IUCN). However, local populations face declines due to habitat loss, road mortality, and human persecution due to being misidentified as venomous vipers.
Cultural Significance
Nicknamed 'puff adder', 'blow viper', or 'hissing adder' due to its defensive displays, which unfortunately leads to frequent unnecessary killing by humans misidentifying it as a venomous species.
Notable Features
Upturned rostral scale used for digging in sandy soil, highly specialized resistance to lethal toad toxins, enlarged rear teeth, and elaborate thanatosis (playing dead) behavior.