Nice Find
 

Found this little guy crossing the road about a mile from my house this morning. The wife and I were taking some friends and family out on our boat for a day on the Suwannee/Santa Fe river system, and if I hadn't forgot my wallet and been delayed a few extra minutes, I probably would have either run him over or not seen him at all. He was right smack in the middle of the road as I passed him, and had me thinking he was a leaf at first. He looks to be a couple of weeks old, and popped as a male. I believe this is a southern hognose, as one can tell from the lighter tail color and more pronounced up-turn to the nose.

Very nice find!

Got him to eat a pinky scented with a nice-sized toad I found out by our dog pens... by the time the camera was ready, all that was sticking out of of his mouth was a foot. I tried a second one, but he refused that one. I guess he didn't want to make a 'hog' out of himself:rofl:
sorry - I couldn't resist.

very nice find, looks like he will end up melanistic in his later life. Plan on keeping him for long? I need some for breeding projects.
-Jt

Getting ready to ship him to a friend of mine in NJ whose been wanting one for a while. I guess when you have over 200 Drymarchon, and are pretty much the world-leader in breeding them, a stubby little guy in camo with a piggy-nose is what floats your boat...
Anyway, before I placed him in his shipping box for the quick over-nighter, I decided to see if I could get him to eat another pinky, and sure enough, he dove right in:

I used to find quite a few of these guys in Spring Hill around Lake Theresa. Not sure how much of a lake is left there, but it may behoove you to check that area of Hernando county. They also frequent the Weeki Wachee area. Any place you have water for toads to grow up and sand for the hognose to dig in is where you will find them... It took me about 3 months of keeping my eyes peeled everytime I was driving on these back roads near my house, and as I'm sure you know, when you least expect one - expect it.

Well, if I don't find one in the meantime and you find one, would you mind saving one for me?

I usually go to Croom and Green Swamp looking for hognose. Southern Hognose seem to be "easier" to find than Easterns

That's definitely an eastern. Easterns have the dark belly that changes to light under the tail. They are pretty common in that area.

Baby eastern hognose from Hernando County, FL:
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._1898161_n.jpg

Baby southern hognose from Alachua County, FL:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._2472078_n.jpg