Hognose Snake

hognose snake, (genus Heterodon), any of up to five species of North American nonvenomous snakes belonging to the family Colubridae. The snake is named for its upturned snout, which it uses for digging. When threatened, it flattens its head and neck and then strikes with a loud hiss but rarely bites. If the bluff fails, it rolls over, writhing, and then feigns death, with its mouth open and tongue lolling. One species, the eastern hognose (Heterodon platirhinos), is sometimes called a puff adder or a blow snake because of its tendency to inflate the skin near its head when threatened.

Hognose snakes live chiefly on toads and can neutralize that animal’s poisonous skin secretions physiologically. They lay 15 to 27 eggs underground. The most widely distributed species are the eastern hognose, which inhabits eastern North America, and the western (H. nasicus), which primarily inhabits the Great Plains and whose range extends from southern Canada to central Mexico. Both species are heavy-bodied and blotchy, and they grow to about 60 to 80 cm (23.6 to 31.5 inches) in length. The southern hognose snake (H. simus), which occurs from southern Louisiana to southern North Carolina and southward to central Florida, is smaller, growing to a maximum length of 61 cm (24 inches).

Some authorities list two additional forms as distinct species, whereas others classify one or both as subspecies of the western hognose. The Mexican hognose snake (H. kennerlyi) inhabits northern Mexico and the U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The dusty hognose (H. gloydi) can be found in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) considers the eastern and western hognose snakes to be species of least concern. However, it lists the southern hognose as a vulnerable species. It does not recognize the dusty hognose as distinct from the western hognose, but the state of Missouri considers the dusty hognose to be a critically imperiled species.