Description: The average adult H. platirhinos measures 28 inches in total length (including tail), with females being larger than males. The maximum recorded total length is 46 inches. The most distinguishing feature is the upturned snout, used for digging in sandy soils. The color pattern is extremely variable. It can be red, green, orange, brown, gray to black, or any combination thereof depending on locality. Dorsally, it can be blotched, checkered, or patternless. The belly tends to be a solid gray, yellow, or cream-colored. In this species the underside of the tail is lighter than the belly.
Habitat: Habitats include openly wooded upland hills, forest edges, fields, woodland meadows, prairies, forest-grassland ecotones, sand plains, barrier islands, fire-managed pinelands, river valleys, riparian zones, and various other habitats with loose soils and amphibian prey. This snake crawls on the surface and burrows into soil. It overwinters in burrows (made by mammal or self-dug) or under rocks of talus slopes. Eggs are laid in nests a few inches below the ground surface or in rotting wood.
Range: This species occurs widely in the united States, extending into southern Canada. Its range extends from southern New England through southern Ontario to Minnesota and South Dakota, and south to southern Texas, the Gulf Coast, and southern Florida
Diet: The eastern hognose snake feeds extensively on amphibians, and has a particular fondness for toads. This snake has resistance to the toxins toads secrete. This immunity is thought to come from enlarged adrenal glands which secrete large amounts of hormones to counteract the toads' powerful skin poisons. At the rear of each upper jaw, it has greatly enlarged teeth, which are neither hollow nor grooved, with which it punctures and deflates toads to be able to swallow them whole. It will also consume other amphibians, such as frogs and salamanders. Because it is a toad feeding specialist, its venom has been modified to be greatly effective against toads and has not been found to be harmful to humans.
Reproduction: Eastern hognose snakes mate in April and May. Females lay their eggs in small soil depressions, mammal burrows, or under rocks. Some females have been observed traveling past viable nesting conditions in order to reach communal nesting sites. The females, which lay 8 to 40 eggs (average about 25) in June or early July, do not take care of the eggs or young. The eggs, which measure about 1+1/3 x 1 inches, hatch after about 60 days, from late July to September. The hatchlings are 6.5 to 8.3 inches long. They have an average nest temperature of 23 to 26 degrees Celsius incubating for an average of 49 to 63 days.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. However, it is a species of increasing conservation concern, especially in the northeastern part of its range. Of the five states in the northeast U.S. where the eastern hognose snake occurs, it currently has "listed" conservation status in four (Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island).
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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