Among those who search for reptiles in North America, there has always been great interest in Eastern Hognose Snakes, Heterodon platirhinos. They are beautiful, variable, display unique behaviors, have an interesting natural history, and are unlike all the other snakes we find locally.

Getting a nice picture of a wild Eastern Hognose Snake can be very difficult because they will roll over on their back and play dead when they feel threatened, and once they go into this routine it is not only hard to make them stop, but they also seem to never look as good once they play dead. During their defensive process they tend to disgorge their belly contents and also stop filling up with air to hiss which makes them look thin and deflated. Take my advice and try to get your pictures of this species before they feel too disturbed and roll over on their backs.

Neophytes will quickly reach down and pick up snakes as soon as they are discovered. When a specimen is discovered the best thing to do is to try to get pictures immediately. When I am on Hognose hunting grounds I carry my camera with me, sometimes it is even already turned on. If the snake tries to escape use a stick or branch to move the animal but whatever you do, DO NOT TOUCH IT WITH YOUR HAND! For whatever reason, these snakes are less disturbed by the feel of natural materials but the feel of your hand will often cause them to play dead upon contact. THINK when you find one of these snakes! Calm down and be patient. Do not give up. Instead, just focus on keeping the snake calm. They will often turn their heads sideways just before they flip on their backs, so if you see them doing this back off a little bit. If they do flip over you can put the snake in a bag for 20 minutes and then carefully dump it out and try again, but even if this works the snake will not look as good as it did the moment you found it. I hope this information proves useful and I wish everyone good luck in finding and getting nice pictures of these spectacular snakes!