Eastern hognose snake Facts
Eastern hognose snake Facts
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| Interesting Eastern hognose snake Facts: |
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| Eastern hognose snake can reach 28 inches in length. Females are larger than males. |
| Eastern hognose snake can be yellow, red, orange, brown, grey, black or olive-green colored. Body can be without any markings or covered with various blotches and stripes. Bottom side of the body is creamy, yellow or gray. Albino (completely white) snakes can be occasionally seen in the wild. |
| Eastern hognose snake has stocky body, flat head, wide neck and large fangs in the rear part of the mouth. |
| Name "hognose" refers to prominent, upturned nose - typical hallmark of this snake. |
| Eastern hognose snake is diurnal animal (active during the day). It hides in the loose soil or under the rocks when it is not active. |
| 50% of diet of eastern hognose snake consists of toads and frogs. Besides amphibians, it eats mice, lizards, turtles, eggs and carrion. Hatchlings eat insects. Eastern hognose snake uses large fangs to pop inflated toad (toad increases the size of the body as a defense mechanism against predators) and ease swallowing of the prey. |
| Eastern hognose snake basks in the sun during the day to increase temperature of the body and gain energy required for everyday activities. |
| Eastern hognose snake inflates upper part of the body (like cobra), produces loud hissing sounds and strikes opponent with closed mouth when it is threatened. Despite scary appearance, eastern hognose snake is completely harmless for humans. It produces mild venom designed for killing of amphibians. |
| Eastern hognose snake uses another interesting strategy to deter the predators. It lays motionless on the back with wide open mouth and pretends to be dead. Impression of a dead body is further intensified with foul-smelling substance. |
| Natural enemies of eastern hognose snakes are hawks, owls and large snakes. |
| Eastern hognose snake uses upturned nose to dig burrows in the soil where it hibernates from October-November to March-April. |
| Mating season of eastern hognose snakes takes place from April to May. |
| Female lays 8 to 40 eggs in the soil or under the rocks and logs. Eggs hatch after 6 to 8 weeks. |
| Hatchlings use egg tooth to break the eggshell. They are ready to leave the eggshell after the removal of the yolk (usually at the age of one week). |
| Eastern hognose snake can survive 12 years in the wild and 15 to 18 years in the captivity. |
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