There was a thread a few days ago regarding mystics and how to ID them. I am no expert but I decided that while I had Garrick on the phone I would ask him how he IDs a mystic. He said he looks at the side pattern where the banding or whatever is. On a mojave as it gets closer to the belly it washes out and gets real light but on mystics the pattern will be noticeably darker. He said that its not a 100% accurate way to ID one but in his experience that has worked well for him. I hope that helps... By the looks of the snakes pattern close to the belly it seems pretty dark and going on what Garrick said I would say that this is a mystic. But I have not yet personally worked with a mystic yet so you regard this post as you like....