Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Today I went out and bought myself a Abberant California King Snake. I don't know whether it's male or female and I'm supposing the only way to be told is by having a vet probe it. XP I wanted to know about how old they can get, how big they will get (I've researched 3-6ft) but want to double check, and about how much will they weigh? My reasoning for this is because my sister(my guardian) thinks this snake will be as big as a boa or python and I'm sure they won't get that big or weight that much.

- WolfBane

Here's a piccy of my gorgeous snake.

Neat looking snake!! I've never been much on aberrent patterned snakes, but that one sure is neat. You can tell your sister to calm down, that snake will only get about 4-5 feet and only as thick around as.......maybe 2 fingers width. It's not gonna turn into a huge rabbit eating beast.
Congrats.
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Thanks! So, about how old will they get? I think I read somewhere about 15 years?

- WolfBane

15 is a good ballpark number. Could be as long as 20, but generally 15-ish. Your mileage may vary...
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

well I just bought my kingsnake in March, but I did pick up a little about them as well. You can most likely tell if it's a boy or girl by the way the tail tapers after the cloaca. If it's a sharp/ noticeable taper, then it's a girl, if its less noticeable, it's most likely a boy. If you post a ventral shot, it could help us to tell what it is. They can also grow up to six feet, but will not be big as a python or boa.

What do you mean by taper?

- WolfBane

Just try and put up a picture of the snakes vent and as much of the underside of the tail past it as possible. We'll tell you and then have a better reference to explain why we think it's male or female.
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Here are some images I just took. I don't know if they are any good or will help any. It wouldn't stay still long enough. :

Thanx. The last pic is the most useful since it shows the vent and the tail after it.

It's a bit difficult to tell, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's a male, but I'm only feeling about 60-70% sure about that. For now just enjoy it for what it is, a snake!! And a neat one too. Maybe after it gets a bit of size on it you can put up another picture and we'll give it another go.
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Okies. It just wouldn't stay still. For right now I just call it Snakey - how original. XP

- WolfBane

It looks like a male to me from the pics if that helps...

nice... love the pattern...
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"Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious."
1.1 Cal Kings

Never seen a pattern like that on Cal King. Is it Cal King cross?

reako45

No. It's a Aberrent California King Snake.

Even though this is a garter snake, this should be able to help u get the idea.

This is a what a female's tail looks like

And this is what a male's tail looks like. U notice the difference? The male's tail is more straightened and doesn't taper as sudden as the female's tail.

Surprised no one brought this up but you can't tell the sex by the tail shape when they're that small. You either have to probe them or pop them. They all appear to be females when babies.