Photo Credit: Peter Paplanus from St. Louis, Missouri, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo Credit: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Western Hognose Snake

Heterodon nasicus

Animal Class: Reptile

Length: 14-36 inches

Weight: 2-13 ounces

Lifespan: 9-20 years

Diet: Carnivore, mostly toads

Habitat: Scrubby, flat prairie from northern and central Mexico, southwestern and central United States, and south-central Canada.

Description: Western hognose snakes are relatively small, stout snakes. They’re grayish brown or greenish on the top with dorsal spots. They also have a pointed, upturned nose, which they use for digging and burrowing.

When threatened, the hognose snake will try to bluff its attacker by either pretending to be a venomous snake—rearing back, flattening their head, inflating their size, hissing, and even faking strikes—or playing dead by rolling over and exposing their belly, mouth open, tongue out. It will even stay limp if picked up.

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Our Animals: Priscilla