Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri (variously known as Nuevo Leon, Variable, or Thayer’s Kingsnake) occurs in several distinctive color/pattern morphs, one of which is melanistic. Those animals are entirely black, from hatching on, and reach an adult length of 30-40 inches or so. There is also a Black Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum gaigeae) that starts out tricolored (like most tropical milksnakes) but gradually becomes jet black as an adult, and attains large size (5-6 ft). A third possible candidate is the Mexican Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula nigrita) that most often is completely black from hatching to adulthood, but sometimes retains faint traces of a pattern. My guess is that if your snake is fairly small and is all black, and it was sold to you as a thayeri—it probably is a thayeri. Congratulations…they are terrific snakes! Check out this link to get some idea of the wonderful variety of thayeri, although this is just the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/thayeri.htm

Regards,

Bob Hansen

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