By: Charlie Fineran

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platyrhinos) is commonly called puff adder, spreading adder or blow viper.  This stout bodied snake is active the daytime.  Burrows deep in winter months.  When disturbed, it “hoods” its neck, inflates its body, hisses loudly and strikes.  If this fails to scare away a predator, it rolls over and plays dead with mouth agape and tongue hanging out.  It becomes limp and will remain “dead” when picked up, however, it will roll over again if placed right-side up.  In captivity, it loses willingness to display this behavior.  This is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snakes found only in North America.  Its teeth inject a mild amphibian-specific venom into prey and also are used to “pop” inflated toads, like a balloon, to enable swallowing. It rarely bites people.

Description – 20-45 inches.  A stout bodied snake with pointed, slightly upturned nose and wide neck.  Color extremely variable: yellow, tan, brown, gray or reddish with squarish dark blotches on back interspaced with round dark dorsolateral blotches.  All black are common in some areas.

Breeding – Mates spring and fall.  Lays 4-61 elongated, thin shelled eggs about 1 and ¼ inch long, which hatch in June to July in a shallow cavity or in sandy soil.  Young are 6.5 to 9.5 inches long when they hatch in 39 to 65 days.

Habitat – Prefers open sandy-soil areas, thinly wooded upland hillsides, cultivated fields, woodland meadows, from sea-level to 2,500 feet in elevation.

Range – Eastern-central Minnesota to extreme south New Hampshire, south to south Florida and west to to east Texas and west Kansas.

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran   

Director Open Space   

Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission – Chairman     

Allamuchy Historical Society – President