Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This snake was sold as a grey banded king, but it just does not look quite right. Correct me if I am wrong
Could it be something else, or a hybrid.

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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Life is Killing Me"

it is definitely not 100% alterna. My guess is a hybrid of some sort, possibly containing some alterna, but definitely not 100% alterna.

DB

You definitely have a hybrid there, if there is indeed alterna parentage. My guess would be that there is influence from the "mexicana complex" which includes greeri, mex-mex, and thayeri. The band count, the look of the snout and other features lead me to believe that it could be a mex-mex/alterna or possibly durango/alterna. One year I bred a durango with an alterna and the progeny resembled the animal pictured in your post.

Marlon

>>which includes greeri, mex-mex, and thayeri.

The mexicana group also includes webbi and ruthveni. While there are no "legal" webbi in the country that I am aware of, many folks have been crossing alterna with albino ruthveni in order to produce albino mutts that resemble alterna. That would be another possibility.

Say, why don't you let us know who misrepresented that animal to you. I want to make sure they are not on our recommended breeders list.

Best
Joe

Thanks for the replies. This snake has been passed around, I guess I am the third owner. It started with a local guy, who's wife sold his collection. This snake was sold to a friend of theirs, who is a friend of mine. I traded it for some problem feeding corns. So, I do not believe it came from any big breeder, or small one for that matter. Sounds like the original guy lost his collection and the people that I got it from are not breeders. They fashion themselves as a rescue.

So, does anyone think it has grey banded in it at all? I was thinking possible mexican king or arizona mountain in the mix, by the markings. I will now post it on the hybrid forum, see what ideas I get there.
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Life is Killing Me"

The mexicana group is a tough one sometimes to distinguish unless you have locality data. The group as a whole is tough but when you throw in the possibility of hybrids, it just gets ugly. It could be part Ruthveni and Milksnake Thayeri or who knows. It is a pretty snake.

Good Luck,

Steven

Looks mexmex to me, no mbk, doesn't look alterna, but what do I know?
Todd Hughes

>>>but what do I know?

I think you know a little something about marcianus, and krispy kreme doughnuts.... "joe was here" haha

How was the wedding? Ready for a trip west? When can ya go? call or e-mail me!

Looking forward to luteola lane, as always, but jeez it was cold up in Va.! Couldn't find any shingle piles but didn't have much time to look, I bet I could come up with an eastern in a day, given the time! Wedding was good, but expensive, as always! Had some clam chowdah that was worth a hoot, missed several flights and lost a bag coming and going, all in a days work! Give ya a holler!
Todd Hughes

Looks to have alot of Thayeri phase influence. For what it is , Nice snake.

Misty, show us the belly as well, please!
Todd Hughes

Thanks for the complements. Here are some more shots
Body and head shots

belly shots

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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Life is Killing Me"

to say for sure.Could even be a three way with some mex mex in it.

L8r Shannon

Agreed, you have a unique animal, enjoy!
Todd Hughes

I just wish the origins were definite. I like it either way. But now, this snake might be purely a pet and not a breeder, since I won't be able to properly label the babies
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Life is Killing Me"

At first i thought alterna x mex mex.. but now i am kinda thinking alterna x ruthveni??? It's a hard one to call..

i have seen animals that look very similar produced by a friend of mine...

misty... you may not want to say exactly where you got this animal from but, what state are you from or more importantly do you know what state the snake is from??

~ Mike Russo

I am in Cali, and the snake is local (I am 99% sure). I do not know the name of the original breeder, or original owner. The original buyer (had his collection sold by his wife) sold the snakes to a friend of mine, who I trade with on a regular basis. That is the most knowledge that I have. lol. I will definitely post, if I find out more. I'd like to know who this guy is that "only does hybrids".
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Life is Killing Me"

Hey Misty,.......this all looks very familiar doesn't it??LOL , just like on the other forum!..see all the confusion that happens as soon as a hybrid/cross/intergrade leaves the hands of the original "creater"!!!!! all positive identification goes strait out the window!, IF it was ever known at all to begin with, even by the person that bred them. Any information(if any)ALWAYS seems to somehow get lost in the shuffle. A friend and I were just talking last night about this very subject!........I whole-heartedly agree with several people that posted previously, the snake is NOT a pure "alterna"(gray-band), but is ABSOLUTELY a combination of ANY of the mexicana complex mentioned before. I see possible traits of all of them, as I used to breed all of them myself. As was mentioned before, some individuals can be difficult to distinguish from one another even when "pure". The truth of the matter is you will never know exactly what it is, except a blend of "mexicana complex". Anyone telling you that they know EXACTLY what it is, is just "BLOWING SMOKE", bottom line.............by the way, the snake is beautiful!!LOL.......take care,.......................Doug
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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!

and you told me that was a webbi, I'd believe you.

JJ

mex mex x ruthveni

or

thayeri x ruthveni

I doubt there's any alterna in there at all

Troy