Are you speaking of any particular species, or hognose snakes as a whole? Really, in either case, the answer is generally the same: supply and demand. Hognose are getting more and more popular by the season, so more people are interested in getting them. Popularity and desire = high demand.
Likewise, those with the snakes (aka breeders, wholesalers, dealers, etc) represent the supply, and because of the high demand, they are able to keep the prices high because quite simply, people are willing to pay those prices. Seriously, if you were selling a product, and your customers (or the majority of them) are still willing pay a certain price for it, would you lower the price? Probably not, unless you had an unusually large supply you had to move. This is the principle of supply and demand. If there is high demand with limited supply (such as with most hognose snakes), the price will be higher. If you have a supply that is relatively greater than the demand (i.e. lots of any item that few people desire), then the price goes down.
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