This is not a normal behavior at all, whether defensive or not. While hognose can do odd behaviors like playing dead, hooding like a cobra and hissing, or other odd behaviors, these are usually temporary and the snake will often resume acting normal which means being on it's belly whether it's moving or laying curled up.

If your hognose is constantly and consistently crawling on it's side, the chances are significant that it's a neurological problem with that snake. While this seems bad, it usually is more disturbing to witness than it can be debilitating for the snake itself. Also, neurological problems can either be genetic (which is more of an issue when breeding is considered) or simply birth defects, possibly from improper incubation temps or random gene defects associated with that particular animal.

I've witnessed several hognose that have such neurological problems, from side/back crawling to head wobbling/stargazing. I also have had several of these types of problem animals that were sent to me from irresponsible breeders and even hatched out a single clutch of my own of several individuals that exhibited such issues even though the parent animals had several different clutches and none of the other animals from those clutches exhibited such behaviors. So it's hard to say exactly what the chief cause of this is, at least some of the time.

If your hognose is active and eating regularly, then regardless of it's condition, it should live a fairly normal and healthy life.
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Troy Rexroth
Rextiles

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