Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I've cared for a small variety of my own herps and have worked quite closely with captive snakes at one of my work places for a long time but have never actually owned one myself. I'd like to jump on into the wonderful world of snake-owners and have my sights set on a California Kingsnake to start with. I'd like to raise it from a hatchling and am already thinking years into the future. I'd like to raise a different variety of kingsnake as well and when the two are sexually mature, cross them and see what comes out. I understand pretty well the actual care required and breeding procedures but would like to know what variety of kingsnake is most likely to successfully breed with a california king. I want the varieties to be different enough that the cross will be difficult to predict (maybe something that isn't just black and white) but also similar enough that one or both of the snakes don't consider the other to be lunch. Given this scenario, which variety would make the better male/female or does it matter? Any reccomendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!

You'll probably get the best answer in the hybrid forum - where you'll likely get nice pics of some of the hybrids you can make with California Kingsnakes.
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11.14 L. getula californiae (Cal. King)
2.3 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 L. getula floridana (Brooksi)
1.1 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
0.1 Heterodon nasicus nasicus (W Hognose)
4.2.14 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - (Cal. Alligator Lizard)

The best thing to breed to a Calif king right now is a pueblin milk. They look awesome and are very easy to get to breed.

Pueblins are cheap and are very prolific. The patterns, colors and abberancies that this hybrid cross will produce brings back returns of ten fold on the value of the two snakes (cal king and pueblin)involved to produce these..
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

I've been thinking about the pueb/cali cross myself and seen the ones produced by Mesozoic Reptiles. Are the striped/abberant patterns on these produced by striped, patternless, or banana calies, or will banded kings also produce this same pattern. I'm very curious.
I haven't seen many others doing this cross; who else is working with these?

The ones Meso has is from bannana cal kings but regular wide bandeds will produce the same thing
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

>>I've been thinking about the pueb/cali cross myself and seen the ones produced by Mesozoic Reptiles. Are the striped/abberant patterns on these produced by striped, patternless, or banana calies, or will banded kings also produce this same pattern. I'm very curious.
>>I haven't seen many others doing this cross; who else is working with these?

Rainer is correct the Banana Cals were used for the IMP's.
If you did banded kings to Puebs you would get banded babies and probably a few abberants.
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Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
www.mesozoicreptiles.com

>I'd like to raise a different variety of kingsnake as well and when the two are sexually mature, cross them and see what comes out. I understand pretty well the actual care required and breeding procedures but would like to know what variety of kingsnake is most likely to successfully breed with a california king. I want the varieties to be different enough that the cross will be difficult to predict (maybe something that isn't just black and white) but also similar enough that one or both of the snakes don't consider the other to be lunch. Given this scenario, which variety would make the better male/female or does it matter?

I would suggest a banana California king x a normally colored, normally banded California king. The pheromone match should make it relatively easy to mate these two.

As far as I know, nobody knows for sure what went into the banana king to make it look that way. Figuring it out would be an excellent multigeneration project, and the results would be useful to king breeders. You'd have to be careful that neither tries to eat the other; that is a given with all the kings. As far as I know, sex does not matter in this cross as long as one is male and the other is female.

Paul Hollander

This is just my own opinion. When you start with the hydrids you start down a risky road. Lets say you have a bit of a reputation as a hybrid breeder. After that, no one in their right mind would buy anything you produce other than pretty mutt snakes.

Let me explain. Lets say 3 years from now you have an interesting morph of a certain species. No one can trust you have actually bred that species, but would rightly suspect your offering all sorts of in-bred and cross bred animals with unknowable genetics.

And if you ever offer a "normal" snake, everyone should know that it is an undesirable result of your cross-breeding. So what to do with it? You may have to either choose to tell lots of little white lies, or euthanize lots of snakes. Not pretty.

There are a growing number of people I would never buy any snake from because I know their history of trying to get rich and famous by taking genetic short cuts. I don't admire them for that, and I would never buy anything that they produce, no matter what they claim it is.

Rather than think of your own ego and try to produce something that will bring you fame and fortune, why not think of the species first and try to produce something pure?

Joe

WOW, you just eliminated all the top breeders in the country.

Take a look around Joe. Go to the expo. Do some research before posting such nonsense. All the top breeders have hybrids.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

Yeah - but the line of Jungle Corns and Creamsicles and Root Beers that I'm going to be breeding are going to be pure. So buy mine instead of theirs.

//Moderators - this is joke. I don't have or sell any of those, so don't delete me
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11.14 L. getula californiae (Cal. King)
2.3 L. getula nigrita (MBK)
1.0 L. getula floridana (Brooksi)
1.1 Pantherophis guttatus guttatus (Corn)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Pacific gopher)
0.1 Heterodon nasicus nasicus (W Hognose)
4.2.14 Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata - (Cal. Alligator Lizard)