What Do Blow Snakes Eat?

Heterodon nasicus, also known as western hognose snake or blow snake is a snake native to North America, with its natural range extending from southern Canada to northern Mexico. Because of its relatively small size and docile nature, it is one of the more commonly kept pet snakes in its genus.

  1. Blow Snakes in the Wild

    • Living in the wild, blow snakes have a varied diet and will consume any smaller animals they can find. Blow snakes are not constrictors and simply catch and swallow prey alive. When young, they feed on small insects and animals. As they mature, their diet expands to small snakes, rodents, lizards, ground nesting birds and frogs. A blow snake's preferred prey is a toad. In certain regions, toads can make up to nearly 80 percent of a blow snake's diet.

    Toad Hunting Adaptations

    • Blow snakes have developed specific adaptions to make consuming toads easier. Blow snakes will use their upturned snout to dig holes in the ground while looking for toads burrowed into the sand or soft soil. When in the mouths of the snakes, many toads will puff up to make themselves too big to swallow. To counter this, blow snakes have developed bigger teeth in the back of their mouth, which will puncture toads when they try to inflate. An additional adaptation of the blow snake is an enlarged adrenal gland, which can produce enough adrenalin to counteract the toxins found in many toads' skin.

    Blow Snakes in Captivity

    • In captivity, blow snakes eat commercially available feed mice, based on the size of the snake. When the snakes are small, frozen or thawed newborn mice treated with toad scent are best. As the snakes grow, they can be weaned off of the toad scent. As adults, blow snakes can be fed live baby mice known as hoppers, and large adults can be fed full-grown mice.

    Feeding Schedule

    • Feed blow snakes once every seven to 14 days once they are grown. Blow bnakes are insatiable eaters in most cases, but males can sometimes go without eating for months at a time. If something is wrong, careful weighing can determine if they are losing weight. If the weight is fairly stable, the snake might simply not be hungry.