Western Hognose Fact Sheet

Common Name: Western Hognose Snake

Scientific Name: Heterodon nasicus

Wild Status: Least Concern

Habitat: prairies, grasslands, floodplains

Country: Canada, United States, Mexico

Shelter: Burrows

Life Span: 15 years

Size: 2 feet long

Details

The western hognose snake is a small colubrid snake native to North America. Males are often under two feet in length, with females rarely exceeding three feet. They are named for the small upturned scale on their snout, which looks like that of a pig. Hognose snakes feed primarily on frogs and toads, but will take the occasional lizard or small rodent. Even though they are rear-fanged and do possess toxins in their saliva, their bite is not considered to be medically relevant to humans.

Cool Facts

When confronted by a potential predator, hognose snakes will play dead. They go completely limp with their tongue lolling from their mouth, and a musk that smells strongly of carrion oozes out of their cloaca. The "hognose" of the hognose snake is used to help the snake burrow through loose, gravelly soils. Due to its docile temperament and small size, the hognose snake has become a popular pet. There are more than 50 different color/pattern varieties in captivity. The genus Heterodon contains three species of hognose snakes: the western hognose snake (H. nasicus), the eastern hognose (H. platirhinos), and the southern hognose (H. simus).

Taxonomic Breakdown

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Family: Dipsadidae Genus: Heterodon Species: H. nasicus

Conservation & Helping

The western hognose snake is not endangered and is classified as least concern.

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