By: Tanya Rothe · Reviewed August 2026
The eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) is one of Wisconsin's most entertaining reptiles — a stocky, upturned-nosed toad hunter that is common in Wisconsin and, despite its dramatic cobra impression, is classed by the Wisconsin DNR among the non-venomous snakes (family Colubridae). Bites are not medically significant to people. Look for it in the bracken grasslands, oak savannas and sand prairies of the central Wisconsin sand counties — the same country this site has covered for decades.
Is the Eastern Hognose Snake Venomous?
The short answer for Wisconsin: no — it is considered non-venomous and safe to be around. The longer, more interesting answer: hognose snakes have enlarged rear teeth and a mild secretion from Duvernoy's gland that helps subdue their favorite prey — they use those rear teeth to "pop" inflated toads. In humans, a bite may occasionally cause mild local swelling or irritation, but nothing medically significant (Savannah River Ecology Laboratory). That mix of harmless-to-people and theatrical-in-defense earned it the old nickname "puff adder."
Photos & Pictures of Wisconsin Eastern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snake Facts
- Scientific name: Heterodon platirhinos
- Status in Wisconsin: Common (Wisconsin DNR)
- Family: Colubridae — the non-venomous snakes
- Size: 20–35 inches (WI DNR)
- Habitat: Bracken grassland, oak savanna and sand prairies; sometimes seen in southern forest
- Diet: Mainly toads; other amphibians are also eaten
- Identification: Sharply upturned snout; dark brown blotches on a brown-gold body; belly mottled yellow, gray and pink; paired black neck blotches that read as "eyespots" when the neck flattens
- Eggs: 4–50 per clutch (commonly 15–25), laid early to midsummer; about 2 months of incubation, hatching in late summer (SREL)
- Legal note: All native Wisconsin herptiles have some level of legal protection
Behavior: The Best Bluff in Wisconsin
Threatened hognose snakes put on a show in two acts. First the bluff: the neck flattens like a cobra's hood, the snake hisses loudly and may throw bluff strikes. If the audience isn't convinced, act two: it rolls onto its back, smears itself with foul-smelling musk and convincingly plays dead. The video below shows a Wisconsin eastern hognose puffing up — this little one was sunning himself on the warm blacktop of a Central Wisconsin road and retreating into the woods in early April.
Video of Wisconsin Eastern Hognose Snake
More Wisconsin Wildlife & Where to See It
- Wisconsin Wildlife — the full library
- Black Bears in Wisconsin
- Wisconsin River Otters
- Wisconsin Public Land — explore the sand-country habitat where hognose snakes live
Sources: Wisconsin DNR, Eastern Hog-nosed Snake species profile; University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory herpetology program — both accessed August 2026.
