|
|
|
| | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
| Upcoming Events | |
|
September 11
Family Health Fair
Learn More |
|
|
September 14
- September 15
Zoo Tots
Learn More |
|
| We Are Open...
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Directions and Info | |
| Contact Info:
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
1875 Noble Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06610
Main Number: (203) 394-6565 | |
|
|
  |
|
|
|
Eastern Hognose Snake
(Heterodox platyrhinos)
We currently have only Western Hognose Snakes at the zoo. Eastern Hognose Snakes are very difficult to keep. Their survival rate in captivity is very low. All hognose snakes can “play dead” as a defense mechanism, laying flat on their backs and bleeding from the mouth.
Description:
These heavy-bodied snakes grow to between 20 and 45 inches. They possess an obvious, (hog-like) upturned snout which they use to dig through dry, sandy soils in search of their prey. They typically bear spotted or mottled color patterns of varying yellow, brown, gray, olive, orange and red shades.
Habitat:
Sandhills, scrub, high pine and turkey oak woodlands, hardwood hammocks, meadows, and cultivated fields.
Range:
These reptiles range from extreme southern New Hampshire to southern Florida: west to Minnesota, southeastern South Dakota, Kansas and Texas. An isolated colony has been verified in extreme northwestern Pennsylvania.
Diet:
Toads are the main prey although frogs are also eaten. Young snakes may eat crickets and other insects.
Lifespan:
Approximately 20 years.
Family Life:
A female Hognose usually lays between 4 and 25 oval, whitish eggs. The 5 to 10 inch-long hatchlings emerge after 40 to 60 days. Like other snakes, they must live independently and fend for themselves upon hatching.
Status:
These snakes are becoming increasingly uncommon in Connecticut as their preferred habitats with sandy soil are altered for development. They also resemble native, timber rattlesnakes, which though fully protected were formerly hunted extensively. As a result of these factors, Eastern hognose snakes are protected in Connecticut and are listed as a "Species of Special Concern".
<<< Striped-knee Tarantula, A.K.A. Zebra knee Tarantula | Back to the Animal list | Barn Owl >>>
|
 |
|
|
|
