I ran into a snake just like that out hunting morels one time . it reared up and acted like it was a cobra the way it flared it's throat all out . Michigan has lots of kool snakes but there up in the trees and hunt at night so we hardly get to see them .

Reticulated Eastern Cobra. Just kidding. I'd say its an Eastern Hognose. When I was growing up we saw them very frequently but I haven't seen one in years.

Definitely an eastern hognose. I used to see them all the time when I was a kid in MI. They can put on quite a show. In addition to the cobra routine, I've also seen them vibrate their tails like rattlers. If you keep bugging it, the snake will roll over and play dead. Then if you roll it back onto its belly it will roll over again.

Most of ours are the black color phase. They are becoming scarce around here too. This one was crawling across my driveway.





EDIT: Here is a link to a youtube video showing some of the defensive actions of the hognose snake. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztngeyRN-84&feature=related

Man that is one pretty snake. Hope you let it be.

Our hognose snakes have brighter colors than that one. A lot of brown and even a little yellow on them.

But there is no mistaking that nose and the flared neck, followed by playing dead and then, the one that always gets me, just when you pick it up, it poops on you!

I've been cleaning wild game all my life, raised chickens, pigs, rabbits and the occasional cow when I was a kid, worked as a plumber for most of my life, stirred crap in septic tanks, worked around it at the sewage plant, seen dead bodies in various stages of decomp when I was a fire fighter and even had to swim for my life in raw sewage once.... You can take it from me! A hognose snakes poop is NASTY!!

Oh. They call them "puff adders" too.

...the poop is still nasty, though.

When I was a boy Dad called them "spreading adders" I had forgotten the part about them playing dead and rolling back over when you turned them. Thanks for the memories peacekeeper. If I remember correctly they can hiss quite loudly as well.

yes... this guy crawled back into the shrubs to attack unsuspecting critters it happened upon.. still very cool. first one ive seen up close in a lot of years.

Yep, a "puff adder." One heck of an interesting snake. And they really do roll back over onto their backs when playing 'possum. Flip 'em over, they roll onto their backs again.
On a side note, got a call the other night from a woman who said the snake in her yard was "spitting venom". Of course, it was a Black Rat Snake. What can ya do?

the eastern hog nose is one of the coolest snakes around. They start with the cobra thing, then they barf on the attacker, they also rattle there tail in the leaves like a ratteler, and as a final resort, they make themselves real stinkey and play dead. No other snake in north America knows all those tricks! Coolest snake I know.

i think im pretty lucky to have a camera with me when i found this.. probably wont see another one.

My favorite snake. Neat thing about hognose, they will not bite, ever. You can handle them all you like, no bites, just a lot of hissing and cobra like antics. They don't excrete like garter snakes or common water snakes either. Hognose are toad eaters only as far as I know, live in the pine bush, sandy, dry areas primarily, two color phases, dark and light banded, banded being the pretty ones. Get a call on them every year. Once got a call on a big fat one in the spring. It later had 47 young. Gave it to a rehabber who released all the little ones. That one was 34 inches long, but they can grow larger. If you have them in a captivity you will quickly see that you can feed them toads right out of your hand, head first. Had a rattler once, but chose not to feed by hand.
Worst thing is to hear that homeowners kill everything that slithers, for no reason. Nothing poisonous in upstate N.Y. except rattlers in mountain areas so no reason to kill any snake as they are all harmless around here.

ya i never kill snakes... even if the customer insists. no reason for it. i will take it away if it really bothers them, after i give them the "how good they are" speech.

I relocate snakes to my house. Just had a new septic drain field put in the first of this week and the people doing the work found snakes everywhere they turned! Thankfully they didn't mind the snakes and let them be.

Ditto the above five posts. It bugs the heck out of me to see people who want to kill every snake. On the other hand, I'm happy to charge them to carry 'em home.
Regarding the Hognose eating toads: I remember reading somewhere that toads' excretions are toxic or very irritating to most animals, and they're mostly left alone. But in a remarkable display of adaptation, snakes can eat toads without a problem!

Cane toads down here have poisonous glands. Not good for the dogs that eat them.

ever lick a toad???

Nice hognose