Indiana Snakes Have Some Wild Defense Mechanisms and This One Deserves an Oscar

Indiana Snake Takes an Unexpected Road Trip in Old Camper

Last week, we sold our camper to a nice fellow who planned on renovating it. A few days later, he texted my husband with news of a very large surprise.

Our beloved Eastern Rat Snake, who has made her home on our property for several years, had accidentally hitched a ride to Tennyson.

She's over five feet long and does this funny thing where she kinks up whenever she sees humans. We live in the middle of the woods, so it's entirely possible we have several large rat snakes around here, but we're pretty sure this big girl is the same one we've been seeing year after year.

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Meet Kinky Snake

One time, my husband was holding up some large boards when she fell out of a tree and landed right across his arms.

Since he couldn't exactly drop the boards, he screamed like a little girl and had to stand there waiting for her to slither away.

He must have a heart of steel. I would have been toast.

For years, we were puzzled by why she'd kink up whenever she spotted us and end up looking like a set of stairs. As it turns out, that's actually a defense mechanism used by rat snakes.

Naturally, we started calling her Kinky Snake. This isn't our Kinky Snake but it gives you a good idea what they look like when they kink up.

Read More: Kentucky Reptile Zoo Has Some of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Indiana's Eastern Hognose Snake Has an Even Wilder Defense Mechanism - It Plays Dead

Another snake native to Indiana is the Eastern Hognose Snake, and its defense strategy is even more dramatic.

Some of them will puff out their throat and hiss at you if it feels threatened. But many will also just play dead.

While scrolling through Facebook, I came across a video from Will Robertson's Wildlife in New Jersey featuring a particularly committed Eastern hognose.

The post read:

"The other night, @wildlifecarlo and I flipped this eastern hognose snake under some tin I laid, and it immediately started playing dead. Usually I try to avoid making them play dead, however this one was insistent, so I decided to use it as an education opportunity."

Why Eastern Hognose Snakes Play Dead

Robertson explained that hognose snakes, which are native to both Indiana and Kentucky, will smear musk and feces all over themselves while writhing around in an attempt to become as unappealing as possible to predators. Ewww, but yeah, kinda smart. No one wants to eat a dead thing with poop smeared all over it. Ladies, take note if you ever get kidnapped.

Once they're done with the performance, they typically roll onto their backs and remain "dead" until the threat is gone.

In fact, they won't even flip themselves back over until you're completely out of sight.

Read More: Land Between the Lakes Forest Service in KY Warns of a New Black Bear

This Snake Deserves an Oscar

I get a kick out of this little snake's commitment to the role.

It's the tongue for me.

The sheer dedication to pretending it's no longer among the living is award-worthy. If snakes handed out Oscars, this one would be giving an acceptance speech.