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Western hognose snake — printable fact sheet
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Western hognose snake
Heterodon nasicus
The western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus) is a small, stout, harmless-to-humans snake of the North American plains, and it is one of the great bluffers in the animal kingdom. The upturned, keeled rostral scale that gives it the name is a shovel, used to dig toads out of loos…
Did you know?
- Despite their fierce defensive displays, Western hognose snakes rarely bite and are considered harmless to humans.
- Its upturned nose is a digging tool, used to shovel toads out of sandy soil. It pops inflated toads with enlarged rear teeth, like a pin in a balloon, and appears to tolerate their toxins with oversized adrenal glands. Its death-feigning act is undermined by an insistence on lying belly-up: right it, and it will immediately flip over again. It hisses and spreads a hood like a cobra and strikes with its mouth shut, which is entirely bluff.
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