Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After reading Tim Madsens' post about someone he new who was INSANE about hognoses, and others who usually (and appropriately) describe their discovery of hognoses with the words "...fell in love with...", I started wondering. Are those people who are truly aficionados of hognoses more crazy about them than other species of snake and/or reptile/amphibian?

Since I don't care for exotics, I don't visit any of the boa and python forums that I am sure that get their fair share of "freaks", but I am guessing they get more freaks of a different nature. I know the turtle forums get a lot of die-hard turtle enthusiasts, but that is almost typical as they are one of the few reptiles that people are taught are supposed to be cute and fun. Of the turtles, I am sure is the Clemmys genus (don't jump on my butt about the new revisions all you taxonomists!) get the strongest following. Andy (snakguy88) and I also visit the amphibian forums, and aside from the gray treefrog followers (myself included) there isn't any one species that people swear by like hogs. I have also spent time on the croc and salamander forums and I don't recall there being a strong following for anyone species other than those heavily influenced by availability (like the tiger sal, and the American gator are the easiest to get). I’ve only recently gotten into lizards, so I have no idea how the freaks of the monitor scene are like.

I guess you can see what I am getting at, is there as strong of a following for a relatively unknown group of animals like the hognoses (as in, not super popular and the picture of what most people have in their heads when they think of snakes) as in other herps?????

For me, if I had to choose just one snake, it would be a W hog. If I ever get time and money to actually breed something it would be a hog first. Corn snakes bore me to tears, it’s a hog that I want!
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*Humans aren't the only species on earth... we just act like it.

".the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without
spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

I think every section has their favourites, like with geckos, it used to be all about leopards, but now cresteds have stole lot of their thunder.

Me, I'm a turtle and tort guy, though I think your wrong about the fanaticism coming from being told turtles are cute(ever seen a 150lb alligator snapper?), but instead I think it has to do with their difficulty to keep. Aquatics especially, require relatively complex enclosures compared to most snakes. A rack of sweater boxes with heat tape underneath just won't do it.
I also love my S American parrots, and my little male western hog too.
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Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx

People can get obsessed in the same way about almost anything...
I love my hog, but sand boas are what have me completely obsessed as far as snakes go. I guess it's whatever catches your fancy... if you happen to have an addictive personality . Hogs ARE very interesting, though, they have especially cool personalities for such little snakes. This is why I really want to recommend them as beginner snakes even though I've stopped because they can be a bit tough. My hog was my fourth snake and third colubrid.
People with 'cute' pets who tend to anthropomorphize them can be obsessed, but they're usually obsessed with their one animal and not with the species as a whole.

You bet I do. The variations on this guys - red, yellow, green, dark phase, light phase, hi contrast, jaguar pattern, stripes, etc. The morphs - albino, pink pastel albino, hypo, super hypo, axanthic, anerythristic, and the combinations thereof provide limitless and exciting possibilites. Did I miss anything...

The feel of the roughscale as it goes through your fingers, the big eyes, the snout - it's magical.

Its small size, big appetite, hardiness and ease of handling make caring easy.

Yes, they can be picky eaters at times. But once you find what they like, such as giving them fuzzy instead of weaned mouse, live versus F/T or scented, or even raising the temp, they become voracious feeders.

They make a good display animal as well because they are diurnal.

I can see myself going hog wild, puffing and hissing on this species, minus the striking and playing dead of course.

Ooh..how about leucistics and possibly snow...