I see that question asked frequently on the forum, and people write me with the same question.
Maybe this picture will help. AT HATCHING, the rings that are jet black on a normal wild-type Honduran are, on a hypo, a sort of brownish/grayish/purplish color. As soon as babies are slitting their eggs you should be able to tell the hypos from the wild types, just from the coloration on the snouts. As hypos age and their skin thickens their dark rings darken, too, to varying degrees, just as wild type hondurans "darken up" to varying degrees. So I can imagine that with a subadult or especially an adult hypo, it may not be immediately apparent whether you're dealing with a hypo or an extremely nice and clean tangerine. Exceptional animals, of course, are always apparent as hypos, and the handful of "super hypos" produced by mike falcon aren't just recognizable, they're still spectacular as adults. But as babies, you oughta be able to tell the difference just by comparing snouts.
I hope this helps.
peace
terry
