Hognose Snake morph

Recessive

Sable

Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus)

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What Sable looks like

A recessive Western hognose trait associated with increased dark pigmentation and iridescence. Animals often darken as they mature; pattern may become less distinct. Two copies produce the visual trait; one copy is a nonvisual carrier.

How to identify it: Dark coloration that can intensify with age, with increased iridescence. Confirm inheritance through documented parentage or breeding; appearance alone does not identify carriers.

How Sable is inherited

Sable follows a recessive inheritance pattern, carried on the Sable allele (locus SABL).

What does het sable mean?

Because Sable is recessive, an animal needs two copies of the allele to show the trait visually. An animal with a single copy is called het sable (heterozygous). A het animal looks normal but carries the gene, so pairing two het sable animals produces, on average, one in four visual sable offspring.

Predict Sable pairingsOpen the Hognose Snake calculator preloaded with a het x het pairing.Identify a Hognose Snake morphUse the morph identifier to match photos to visually identifiable traits.

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