The Eastern Hognose Snake is renowned for its dramatic defensive behavior of playing dead. When threatened, it initially flares its neck like a cobra and hisses loudly to scare off predators. If this display fails, it resorts to playing dead in a highly theatrical manner. The snake flips onto its back, convulses, releases a foul-smelling musk, and even lets its tongue hang out to mimic a lifeless state. This convincing act deters predators who prefer live prey, allowing the snake a chance to esc

When placing this hognose off the road to safety, it played dead because it thought I wanted to hurt it. As you can see in the video, it eventually snaps out of it. Then as soon as I went to go zoom in on it, it slowly started going back to playing dead lol so I just stopped recording and let it be to continue on its way. 🐍 | Justin Doll