Although this snake is often seen around houses and can appear very dangerous, the Eastern Hognose Snake is completely harmless. They have developed a very unique defensive strategy which causes many people to believe they are extremely dangerous. This behavior first involves coiling up and raising the front part of the body off the ground. Then the head and a large portion of the neck are flattened out through the use of specialized rib bones, similar to those of the highly venomous cobras found elsewhere in the world. Many hognose snakes will also hiss loudly and strike out repeatedly, often with their mouths closed. If a predator (and this includes humans) still continues to harrass the snake, they will eventually roll over on their backs, writhe around as if in extreme pain, then lay perfectly still (frequently with their tongues hanging out of their mouths) and feign death. This may work well for predators looking for a live meal, but for humans it is ineffective, because if you flip them on their belly again they roll right back over on their backs! Due to this interesting defensive behavior, I have received numerous reptile rescue calls over the years from people claiming to have a "nest" of baby cobras (which are not found in the wild in the U.S.) in their yard, only to find out that they are harmless hognose snakes! Hognose snakes are also sometimes erroneously referred to as "spreading adders," which is most definitely not a good common name. The true adders, such as the Puff Adder from Africa and the Death Adder from Australia, are highly venomous snakes and are NOT to be confused with the harmless hognose snakes found in our area.

Eastern Hognose Snakes average about 28 inches as adults and are highly variable in their coloration. In fact, the author has documented specimens with varying shades of tan, gray, black, brown, red, and even orange. The most identifying characteristic of the Eastern Hognose Snake is the upturned rostral scale on the tip of the nose. This is used to dig around in loose soil looking for their favored food item - toads!