The Eastern Hognose Snake has always been one of my favorites.

Though it will do a lot to try to get you to leave it alone, I believe that it will not bite you. These are all pictures I took last year in Wisconsin, as I've only seen one in Arkansas so far, and it was dead. I've also posted a few original videos of them playing dead and acting like a Cobra, which are short and fun to watch.

Thankfully, this is one species whose population is doing quite, as it is rated as "least concern"" rather than being considered "threatened". Its home range is across the majority of the eastern United Stated from Southern Canada and New Hampshire, west to Minnesota, and south to Florida and Texas. I've personally seen then in both Wisconsin and Arkansas.

Though these snakes can get up to almost four feet long, most adults are somewhere under three feet in length. The name "hognose" comes from the upturned tip of their nose, which is used for digging into sandy soils. Hognose snakes feed primarily on amphibians, and their favorite food is toads. I have even seen a Hognose and a Frog spend all winter in the same cage, without the Hognose eating the Frog. Then, once the first Toad of spring was caught and rubbed on the Frog to make it smell like a Toad, the snake immediately ate it.

Technically, the Hognose snake is a rear-fanged snake, but it is considered to be nonvenomous because it typically does not affect humans. I am personally unaware of anyone receiving a bite from this snake, and it seems that when they do strike at someone, they do not open their mouths. This species is an egg-layer and is also frequently called a "puff adder" or a "blow snake" because of how they inflate themselves and puff up their heads like a Cobra.