Dutch Hypo Hognoses

The western hognose gets a soft purplish-grey wash from the Dutch Hypo instead of black pigment. This mutation does not change the pattern, so the saddles and blotches remain readable as the snake warms up. Because they lift red and purple lines so well, breeders use both Evans Hypo and Dutch Hypo in warm-toned combinations. These are two hobby names for the same recessive mutation.

Appearance

A Dutch Hypo keeps its pattern. You can tell it apart most reliably by the purplish-grey wash it shows on the belly where a normal would have black pigment. A pink-and-white belly with a hint of lavender, golden-brown dorsal blotches, and a tongue and pupils that are bright purple instead of the usual dark are seen on an unmixed animal. Toffee Belly might look similar at first glance, but it has more red or pink through the belly, wider and more diffused saddles, and lower contrast than a Dutch Hypo.

Genetics

Because Dutch Hypo is recessive, you need two copies for a visual. A Het, 50% Het, 66% Het or Pos Het carrier looks like a normal western hognose. Both American and European breeders treat this mutation as the same as Evans Hypo. Richard Evans first called the American line Hypo, and it became Evans Hypo once the Dutch form appeared; the two lines paired together produce visuals. So the separate Dutch Hypo and Evans Hypo entries in the catalogue cover what the hobby generally treats as one gene. True Hypo is a different, unrelated recessive. If you pair it with a Dutch or Evans Hypo, you get normal-looking carriers, not a visual. The name is short for hypomelanistic, but the current view is that Dutch Hypo is a tyrosinase-positive (T+) form of albino rather than a true reduction in melanin. The label dates from before that was understood. It does not combine with other T+ albino genes into one visual. When paired with Caramel, another T+ gene, it makes the double-recessive combo Frosted Hypo. Adding Axanthic or Sable gives Frost Bite and Permafrost.