Hognose Snake: a Master of Deception

While I was watering my garden the other day, one of the usually reclusive garden residents came out from beneath one of the boards propped up behind a bed. It was a hognose snake, also called puffers, or puff adders. They’re masters of deception!

When I first glanced at it, I didn’t immediately recognize it. The last one I’d seen had patterns and colors. This was gray with a white underbelly. Once I was close enough to see the blunt-tipped, slightly turned up nose, I knew who I was dealing with. And so I went closer to record some video of this masterful act, so you can learn to recognize these snakes for who they really are, and not the scary cobra they pretend to be. (We don’t have cobras in the US, by the way)

I won’t post the video cover image here, in case someone I know is reading this. She is really not happy with me when I do that, so I’ve gotten more careful, haha. But if you click on the image below, you’ll go to my video at YouTube.

Heterodon platirhinos : hognose snake

It’s usually fall when I see these hognose snakes. I’m not sure what they’re doing for the rest of the year, but I’ve never encountered one outside of this time of year.

They’re only slightly venomous, so not a danger to humans (unless you’re allergic to them, or something). Their diet is mainly toads.

The hissing and puffing is an act to scare off threats. If that doesn’t do the trick, then they’ll roll over and play dead. I’ve never tormented one long enough to make them go that far, but I’ve read that if you turn them back over after they’ve pretended to be dead, they’ll go through the act again and even take it so far as to vomit and stick out their tongue.

Deciphering the Latin

The latin binomial of plants and animals often give clues to their identity. That’s the genus and species name: Heterodon platirhinos. Platirhinos refers to the flattened nose (broad snout is the translation), which is the clue I saw that told me what kind of snake it was.

These scientific names are great for helping to remember plants, too. The species names often indicate color, or use, or other characteristics.

Other snakes

Warning: don’t click the links on the snake names below if you don’t want to see pics of them.

We’ve got a lot of snakes around out here in the Ozarks. The ones I see most commonly include timber rattlesnakes, copperheads, DeKay’s Brown snakes, black rat snakes, ringneck snakes, speckled king snakes and grass snakes. I’ve also seen at least one red-bellied mud snake, one milk snake, and one of the colorful western king snakes. Oh, and while there are probably plenty of cottonmouths by the water, I’ve only encountered one.