The hognose snake morphs have become the best options for pet snakes, rivaling ball pythons and corn snakes in the pet trade. The recent market dominance has made breeders develop about 60 stunning hognose morphs.
You can find hognose morph pet snakes all over the U.S., with mind-blowing colors that can be overwhelming for hobbyists. Don’t worry, though, because this article will feature some of the most popular hognose snake morphs to help you decide the most suitable for you.
What Are Hognose Snake Morphs?
Hognose snake morphs are natural and fantastic designer snakes bred to appear similar, even though they exhibit different colors and patterns. The varying shades, markings, and upturned textures make the hognose snakes undeniably cute.
Their captive-bred sizes are also suitable for any household. Similarly, hognose morphs are generally well-mannered and great for beginner hobbyists, which means they are easy to care for without many requirements.
The 12 Most Popular Hognose Snake Morphs
1. Albino Hognose Snake
The albino hognose snake morph is arguably unique and among the most expensive hognose morphs. This snake does not produce melanin, which is the darkest of the three pigments you can find in a snake.
For this reason, the albino has typical snake patterns of white, yellow, and orange hues. They have beaming red eyes as their eyes also lack melanin, enabling you to see the blood in their eyes.
Breeders use these hognose snakes to enhance other morphs and create snakes with two traits. An albino morph can grow up to 2 years and measure up to 20 inches long if it gets an enabling environment.
2. Albino Anaconda Hognose Snake
This morph is the product of crossing the albino and anaconda hognose snakes. The albino anaconda hognose has a lighter yellow scale base with pale orange dots that start as small and tend to get bigger as the snake grows in size.
You may mistake it for a red albino anaconda, as they look alike, except for the prices. Albino anaconda hognose snakes are a little cheaper than their red counterparts.
Interestingly, this morph can grow up to 20 inches long while still maintaining a 2-3 inches width all through. It also has sensitive skin and would love nothing more than to rest in your palm and share your warmth.
3. Red Albino Anaconda Hognose
You would think this morph was fake if you met it. The red albino anaconda is an extraordinary hognose snake with a peachy-yellow skin tone and vibrant orange spots along its body.
The more the snake grows, the more likely the colors alter. These spots start as orange in color and turn darker down the tail as they get larger. The red albino anaconda morph’s length ranges between 15 and 20 inches and love resting in their owner’s arms for the warmth from the human body.
4. Extreme Albino Red Anaconda Hognose Snake
The extreme albino red anaconda morph is a western hognose that looks like its cousin, the red albino anaconda. However, this morph has a brighter color than its mate, the reason it’s known as “extreme.”
An extreme albino red anaconda morph has a fiery yellow-tan skin base with much more distinguishable patches bigger and notably rounded in size. This morph’s orangish-red patches are more of bold red color.
5. Axanthic Hognose Snake Morph
This morph’s genetics do not produce yellow or red pigments. This feature leaves axanthic morphs with dark tones, even though they still display the “wild-pattern” type.
For instance, you can find an axanthic hognose snake with black eyes, dark tone patches, and dark brown blotches inside black rings. The body will have a base color of white and grey that stretches down the snake’s length.
The axanthic hognose morphs can sense heat easily thanks to their black tongues. They are notably more prominent in size than other hognose snakes. This morph reaches maturity ranging between 18-24 inches in length and 2-3 inches in width.
6. Toffeeconda Hognose Morph
If a hobbyist admits that they’ve never seen hognose snakes climb trees, they have not yet met toffeeconda hognose snakes. These morphs are from the western part of the U.S. and get their name from the light brown skin base that resembles toffee.
Unlike other hognose snakes, the toffeeconda are avid tree climbers and would do anything to perch on branches. It’s smaller than its snake counterparts, measuring up to 12-12 inches long and about 2 inches wide. Tofeeconda morphs are beautiful even without the bold orange or red colors and can cost you about $350-$500.
7. Super Arctic Western Hognose
Finally! Here’s the super arctic western hognose, most people’s favorite morph. This snake is unique, with a cream white base and incredible brown dots inside black rings.
Super arctic western hognose morphs also have a flat dark tongue with a ribbon split in the middle, and their solid black eyes are a gem to look at! This morph’s uniqueness makes it a premium reptile, such that a mature snake will cost you up to $1,000!
8. Coral Snow Western Hognose
These hognose snake morphs are attractive with a bold color pattern and behavior. The coral snow morph is a product of mixing a lavender hognose and an albino morph, a background that gives the coral snow its pale shades of pink and purple.
Coral snow western hognose morphs grow only a few inches, but they cost a few thousand dollars.
9. Eastern Hognose Snake
The eastern hognose snake morph resembles the axanthic anaconda. Its scales contain a rich brown color with charming dark block-shaped splotches running along its sides and back.
You can distinguish this morph by its black and brown eyes and a flat shape that extends to its nose. A mature eastern hognose morph can measure up to 12-20 inches, and they mostly enjoy a hearty meal of small frozen or live rodents like rats.
10. Lavender Hognose Snake
The lavender morph manifests in exceptionally lavender to pale purple scales, dark purple blotches, and black eyes. This morph exhibits this color because it possesses a recessive gene that limits melanin production on the skin.
A fully-grown lavender morph can stretch up to 18 inches long, although it is hard to come by this hognose.
11. Jaguar Hognose Snake
This hognose snake morph gets its name “jaguar” because its dominant gene creates a circle and oval patterns just like the spots on a jaguar animal. These genes manifest the same way whether the snake possesses one or two copies of the gene.
A jaguar hognose snake’s marking manifests in a pale tan color on the skin and scales, integrated with brown outlines surrounding the dorsal part of the body. This hognose snake has a brown head with black and robust eyes.
12. Pink Pastel Hognose
Here’s a designer hognose that is among the most interesting hognose snake morphs thanks to its recessive gene that creates intriguing aesthetics in the snake.
It has smooth velvet pale to dark pink lines that are a little darker, like a pinkish-orange hue. This skin tone gives the pink pastel its nickname “Pink Panther.” It’s not every day you can come by this pink hognose snake as it is one of the rarer hognose snake morphs.
Summary
Hognose snake morphs can be wonderful companions, even though they aren’t traditional cuddly pets per se. These pet snakes may not respond when you call or cuddle with you, but there’s something soothing about watching one slither slowly into its enclosure.
Plus, they are beautiful and colorful, stay quiet, and don’t require walks or space for shelter. However, their diets can be quite a challenge.
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Featured Image Credit: PetlinDmitry, Shutterstock
