Scales: Keeled

Anal Plate: Divided

Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes are found throughout the eastern half of Texas. They are quite a character, many zoos have received phone calls from the general public about a cobra that was in their back yard. It is most likely a hog-nosed snake. One of the first defensive behaviors of this snake is to flatten its neck to appear as if it was a little cobra with its hood out. They will often strike with their mouth closed, hiss, spit out blood, defecated and if all that doesn't work, they will then play dead. If you try to flip it over on its belly, it will flip itself back over on its back. Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes have very a very specialized diet, they only eat amphibians and their larvae. Hog-nosed Snakes have large adrenal glands (largest in relation to body ratio of any native snake) that secrete adrenaline to counteract the effects of the toad's toxins (digitaloid: slows the heart).

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