Wisconsin Hognose observations 2020

[mikephoto]

Here's a few of the eastern hognose photos I took this year.

"Half dead hoggie" by Mike Day, on Flickr

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) by Mike Day, on Flickr

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) by Mike Day, on Flickr

Eastern Hognose (Heterodon platirhinos) by Mike Day, on Flickr

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) by Mike Day, on Flickr

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) by Mike Day, on Flickr

[Jeff]

How are hognoses doing in Wisconsin? They are about gone from southern Louisiana - just a few small pockets. I get one or two reports per year, but up through the mid 1970s they were common yard snakes. The small juveniles here have an orange middorsal stripe and are Pygmy Rattler mimics,
Thanks for the report,
Jeff

[mikephoto]

They are pretty common throughout the state. They lay large clutches of eggs so it's not unusual to see a dozen or more young ones in the fall.

[BillMcGighan]

More good stuff, Mike.

Jeff, any idea of their decline in LA?

[Jeff]

They are pretty common throughout the state. They lay large clutches of eggs so it's not unusual to see a dozen or more young ones in the fall.

I've been given a couple of big clutches in the past (1990s), so there is a high reproductive potential. One came from a sawdust pile. All of the recent south Louisiana records from about the past eight years are juveniles except for a small adult that I trapped earlier this year.

Jeff, any idea of their decline in LA?

Bill, nothing known. Fire ant predation on clutches is an easy guess, though they have seemingly disappeared from areas with few if any fire ants. Another fleeting theory is that there has been a shift in abundance of toad species, with the Gulf Coast toad becoming dominant in habitats previously dominated by Fowler's and Southern toads. Perhaps hognoses eventually succumb to a diet solely of GC toads. A couple of nature center folks have told me that they can't keep hognoses alive for more than a couple of years on a diet of GC toads.

Jeff

[Kelly Mc]

Excellent series of pics.

I have been privy to nasicus dying when fed various florida toad sp.

An adult and well started juvenile, both healthy, vigorous and died suddenly within days of feeding the florida toads. Sorry i dont have more toad identification info. But it was Duval county.

[krismunk]

Another fleeting theory is that there has been a shift in abundance of toad species, with the Gulf Coast toad becoming dominant in habitats previously dominated by Fowler's and Southern toads. Perhaps hognoses eventually succumb to a diet solely of GC toads. A couple of nature center folks have told me that they can't keep hognoses alive for more than a couple of years on a diet of GC toads.

Hmmm... from visits to east TX I got the impression they were doing just fine in areas completely dominated by GC toads. Of course in those areas maybe GC toads have always been the dominant species? I don't know. Maybe someone local with more knowledge than me could pitch in?

[Jeff]

from visits to east TX I got the impression they were doing just fine in areas completely dominated by GC toads

Yes, that is very strange. Two years ago, a friend of mine in Louisiana who was hoping to one day see a hognose went to Houston and found five in one morning. In the 1930s George Meade rated the hognose as one of the most abundant (top 5) snakes in the Gramercy, LA, area, but the last record from that parish (St.James) is from the mid-1960s. In southeastern Louisiana during the past 40 years the Gulf Coast Toad has expanded its range and habitats to become the dominant toad species. Perhaps local hognoses have lost the arms race on a finer scale than the one mentioned by Kelly.

[Kelly Mc]

My contact obs were some cb trade westerns and not real relevant except maybe tangetial to toady sensitivities.

I wish i had paid more attention to the toads sp that were collected in large numbers in the evening, in Mayport. When Mayport was still fantastic with fauna and little tucked away wetlands.