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I have always been interested in hognose and decided to get a pair from a friend. They are suppose to both be westerns nasicus nasicus but I believe my female is a kennerlyi. Can you hognose experts tell me if I'm correct in my I.D.s? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The female which i believe is a mexican (heterdon nasicus kennerlyi)

and the male which I believe is a plains (heterdon nasicus nasicus)

Chris Drake

From just the pattern, I would say your right. The first one is mexican and the second is plains. If you can get a close up shot of the top of the head in front of the eyes, we can tell you for sure.

-Jon

Ok, I can see the males head good enough to give you a positive id as a plains, but I just can't quite make out the females scales. I would say I'm 90% sure she's mexican.

Just an FYI, most of subspecies within W. hognose complex have been elevated to species level-

H. nasicus - "Plains Hog-nosed Snake"

H. gloydi- "Dusty Hog-nosed Snake"

H. kennerlyi - "Mexican Hog-nosed Snake"

I don't have much experience with anything other than H. nasicus but the first individual does seem to look more like H. kennerlyi

-Chris
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Christopher E. Smith
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Captive Bred Herps

Thanks for the help John and Chris. I didn't know that they had become seperate species. Here are some better pics of the female in question. I hoped she was a nasicus because now I have to buy 2 more snakes to get my pairings right.

Thanks, Chris Drake

Yup, she's a mexican.. Its a good thing you are more observant than the friend you bought them from..

-Jon

Lol Jon. I don't mind them being different. Like I said it just gives me a reason to buy more to pair them up now. haha.. She weighed in tonight at 119g. and the male weighed 36g. I have a feeling it may be a little rough finding an adult or subadult male kennerlyi though.

Chris Drake

Well, your better off with a single female rather than a male. You should be able to find one without too much trouble.