The Hog-Nosed Snake Is A Rare Sight Indeed

The Hog-Nosed Snake is indigenous to many parts of Southern and Central Ontario. It is also one very misunderstood reptile. The Eastern Hog-Nose is also known as a “Puff Adder”, “Spreading Adder”, “Sand Viper” and other vicious sounding names, yet it is absolutely HARMLESS. I have only seen one of these snakes in the wild; it was large and measured about 3 ½ feet (just over a metre) long.

The Hog-Nosed has been given this variety of names due to its penchant for coiling tightly and rising like a venomous Cobra. It is a very intimidating thing to watch – I know – I watched one! This snake should have won an Oscar for its performance. Rearing up slowly and spreading its neck skin while weaving back and forth. Not for the faint of heart! It was quite a convincing bluff for a snake which poses no danger to people.

The Hog-Nosed snake can spread its neck by means of elongated ribs which lie folded backward when at rest. If this ferocious performance fails in scaring off whatever is bothering it, it will literally roll over and play dead – complete with open mouth and lolling tongue.

It is a stout bodied snake which can attain a length of over 3 feet. Its snout is pointed and slightly upturned at the tip, giving the impression of a pig’s snout. The Hog-Nosed colour is usually olive, brownish or grey with large dark blotches down its back. Sometimes these blotches can be quite faint as was the case with the one I saw.

These snakes can be found in sandy areas and light woods. Their main prey is toads and frogs, toads being the more highly prized meal.

The Hog-Nosed snake is equipped with a pair of fang-like teeth used to puncture, and thus deflate toads, which as a defense mechanism, puff themselves up with air in an attempt to appear too large to eat.

This species can be found from Southern Ontario to Parry Sound, as well as Southern Algonquin Park. However, due to the somewhat similar resemblance of its skin pattern to that of the Massassauga Rattler, coupled with its convincing mimicry of the Cobra, it has been widely killed because of its perceived threat to humans. As a result it is now quite rare in Ontario.

It is frustrating, at least for me, that because an animal or reptile is not necessarily pretty, or viewed as undesirable for what ever reason by humans, that a creature must be forced to near or full extinction through wanton and senseless killing.

We must keep in mind that each time we annihilate a species from the planet we are creating an ever more diseased and unbalanced eco-system for ourselves.

Bill Leeming is a professional naturalist and published wildlife writer.