Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here are some shots of my '04 female Hypo Sonoran....

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-David Beard

www.herpview.com

Nice snake, but what makes you think that it is a hypo? That is a nice typical Sonoran Gopher snake.

Kerby...

I'll tend to agree with Kerby here....It's a beautiful animal, but Sonorans are pretty variable, and that animal looks like a nicely colored, normal Sonoran. Is he cb or wc? He has great color, but doesn't look hypo to me. Very attractive animal. From the looks of it, he has some attitude too, which is always nice...

-AzAtrox

Well, having seen many many normal Sonorans, and also having looked at various Hypos both in person and on the internet (Jason at Envy Reptiles has some nice Hypos), I feel quite confident in that this animal is in fact a Hypo. It is a CBB animal, and completely lacks all pattern on the belly (completely white underside) and is MUCH lighter (there is no black whatsoever on this snake) than a normal Sonoran Gopher should be...It is my opinion my Hypo is much lighter and prettier than the one posted below by Tom (no offense Tom lol), yet no one has questioned him-why?...in comparison, here is an '03 normal male I have...the difference is very clear, at least to me it is:

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-David Beard

www.herpview.com

And here is why. You say yours has a white belly, Sonoran Gophers have white bellies. I've seen hundreds in Arizona, and about 90% have ALL WHITE BELLIES.

You say your snake doesn't have any black on it, well we must be looking at two different pictures.

Is yours lighter, yes. Hypo, I don't see that. Sonoran Gopher snakes are quite variable (at least in Arizona). Not sure of the locale of yours.

Here is a picture of a wild-caught from Prescott. All white belly, etc... I have caught some in Arizona that have no markings on the head, doesn't make them hypo.

Pretty snake though, but hypo????

Kerby...

Perhaps the Gophers in AZ are different than other locales.....and yes they are quite variable, but I am going on what I have deducted myself and from what others with more experience have told me about my animal. If you disagree it is a Hypo, fine. That doesn't change what it really is, now does it?
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-David Beard

www.herpview.com

LOL

Cheers

Kerby...