A Serpent In The Garden

In the almost four years that we have lived in Southwest Michigan, I have never seen a snake on our property. So you can imagine my excitement when I walked outside this afternoon and came across this on our driveway:


I happen to love snakes and greatly respect the role they play in the eco-system. Just this summer, I had expressed my disappointment to someone that so far snakes hadn't been a part of our wildlife repertoire here at A House In The Woods. Now that one had finally shown up, I was practically tripping over myself with excitement as I ran back inside to grab my camera.

Racing back to the driveway, I was relieved to find my snake exactly where I'd left it. At first, because of its flared head (see below), thick body, sluggish movements and tapering tail, I thought this might be a young Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, Michigan's only venomous snake, and a rare sight indeed. Keeping a respectful distance, I tried to locate the telltale rattles on its tail but couldn't discern any.

After snapping several pics, I stepped back to observe this beautiful creature for some minutes as it made its sluggish way in the direction of the garden. Its middle looked somewhat distended, as if it recently had enjoyed a meal (an unfortunate toad or baby vole, perhaps?) From time to time it flattened its head and curled the tip of its tail, as if warning me to keep clear. Here are some more images:








I finally managed to tear myself away long enough to go inside and look up the Michigan DNR's website. While my snake looked sort of like a Massasauga, it also sort of didn't. The shape and thickness were similar to a young Massasauga's, but the pattern was somewhat off.

Here's a photo of the Eastern Massasauga from the Michigan DNR website:

Since I couldn't decide conclusively that this snake and mine were one and the same, I scrolled down to the list of lookalike snakes and found this:


This is the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake. According to the Michigan DNR website, the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake also is thick bodied, slow moving and will flare its head, coil and even strike.

Compare the photo of the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake with the photos of my snake and it's obviously a match. A little more about the Eastern Hog-nosed, from the Michigan DNR website:

A snake of open, sandy woodlands - found in the wooded dunes of western Michigan. The upturned snout is used to burrow after toads, a favorite food. When threatened, hognose snakes puff up with air, flatten their necks and bodies, and hiss loudly. (This has led to local names like "puff adder" or "hissing viper.") If this act is unsuccessful, they will writhe about, excrete a foul smelling musk, and then turn over with mouth agape and lie still, as though dead. Despite this intimidating behavior, Hog-nosed snakes are harmless to humans.

"Wooded dunes perfectly describes our backyard habitat and it's almost impossible to walk a few steps without stumbling over a toad, so it looks like my snake has found a perfect Garden of Eden here. Welcome, Mr. Hog-nosed!