Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys I am new here and looking into getting a snake as a new pet and saw this video and was wondering if anyone could tell me wat type of snake this is here is the video
Link

Looks like an indigo snake to me.

I thought it was indigo also but as you can see in the video it contricts it prey and indigos are known for powering over there prey not constricting....

That snake is a Mexican Black Kingsnake. They are very hardy and pretty easy to find. They get to around 5 feet.

You could also look at getting a Black Milksnake. They are tricolored at birth, but grow into big solid black 6 foot snakes.

If you want something smaller, you could get a black thayeri (aka variable king). These snakes come in several color phases, including jet black. They top out at a little over 3 feet as adults.

What ever you get, don't feed it like those idiots did. There is NO reason to feed live mice to a snake like that. Frozen/Thawed mice are cheaper and safer.

I also recommend motion sickness tablets to anyone who wants to watch that video.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

>>That snake is a Mexican Black Kingsnake.

I'm gonna second what Chris said. The scales are too small for an Indigo.

Man, that's one hard vid to get anything out of. Crappy lighting, poor focus, inane commentary, and really bad camera work.

Other black snakes you could consider are:
Black Rat Snake - Long (6+ ft), hardy, glossy black
Black Racer - Med (4 -5 ft), slender, satiny-black
Black Pinesnake - Large (6+ ft), uncommon, more of a dark brown
Black Kingsnake - L. g. nigra Uncommon, but highly recommended - adults are glossy black w/patterened belly (4 -5 ft).

Many other snakes that are normally patterened come in melanistic (black) phases, including Hognoses, Garters, Water Snakes, Coachwhips, etc.

Regards,

John D

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I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat (WV Rescue) "Roberta"

Bingo!
(Not an indigo)
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...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."