Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know that each individual has its own "personality"; however, in general does on type have a better disposition than another. Cal king is cheapest; however, I have read some places that Mexican is handleable and some other places say they are difficult. Which should I get?? Thanks, Dave

Well, if your only buying one snake then cost should not be a big issue for you.. so, lets go with temperment..

Alterna, Thayeri, Pyro's etc. are a bit calmer as hatchlings.. Cal kings and many other kings can be a bit crazy when they are young but they usually settle down as they put on some size..

But, we can't really tell you what to get.. get what you like and if it turns out to be to much for you, sell it and try a different type..

~ Mike Russo

Mike's right. It's a matter of personal preference. Over 40 years I've kept all of them except the Mexicana Complex. Based on my experience and my preference I'd have to go with a Hypo "Brooksi". Just go to Tom Stevens post below and you'll see why (Tom also has one the most awesome web sites available. They are eating machines, rarely, if ever musk and are as calm as can be. And Hypos look hot!!! I have 4 and they all look different. That's my $.02!

Pat

Or Peanut Butters:
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Or snows and lavender sulfurs

or HYPOs

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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

>>I know that each individual has its own "personality"; however, in general does on type have a better disposition than another. Cal king is cheapest; however, I have read some places that Mexican is handleable and some other places say they are difficult. Which should I get?? Thanks, Dave

Well if it has to be a king then I would go with a Cal. King snake. Every snake just like people have different personalities, my king for example allows me to hold him using gloves if I don’t then he thinks my fingers are a mouse lol, trust me though most Cal. kings are tame as kittens. There are several things to keep in mind when buying a snake, if this is your first snake then you will have to keep some other things in mind. I am by no means an expert but most neonates (different species) I have handled expect corn snakes are very jumpy and some are nippy, again this isn’t a rule just my experience. Some snakes are hard to get eating at a young age. A Cal. King allows your husbandry skills to not be spot on and they still can thrive, they don’t need the humidity or the hot temps and depending on where you live you might not need any heating at all, but a UTH (under tank heater) will do just fine. As adults you can get buy with two large mice a week, cage requirements are easily met and clean water in a cereal bowl size container (flat not deep). FYI, I personally don’t have enough experience with most of the common species of snake in large numbers but I would easily recommend a Cal King. I have had my Cal King now for almost 9-10 years and he is a great pet and next year I might breed him if I could ever find a female that I like

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Jason A.
"Long time Herper, first year Breeder `07."

I think the MBK is a great choice for a first snake. Black is cooool, man, and they have a great feeding response as well. They mellow with age and become great captives. Did I mention they are cool, lol!

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Todd Hughes

If you want a tricolor get a sinloan milksnake. If you want huge get an eastern or Florida king (brooksi). If you want black get a Mexican Black king. If you want spastic get a honduran or cal king. If you want small size get a...

Anyway you get my point. Basically I would get something that is calm in dispostion, eats great and is not nervous or secretive . Pick the disposition of the kingsnake first and then look at your options.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

Did we say Brooksi like to eat??? This is one of last year's babies happily working on a small mouse...hard to beat them for good pets and fun to work with...Helane

Thanks much for all the input. As suggested I will go with personality first then have a difficult decision picking from all the color morphs. I think I will just wait for next show and pick for there. Thanks, Dave

Thanks much for all the input. As suggested I will go with personality first then have a difficult decision picking from all the color morphs. I think I will just wait for next show and pick for there. Thanks, Dave

I would decide what you want first and then go hunt it at the show. You can make many mistakes getting a snake on a wim.

For instance what color are you looking for? What size? Don't rule out milksnakes as they are close to kingsnakes.

Any research don through the archives is helpful picking a species. Use the archive search button below and type in MBK or Mountain king ect. You will get sevral posts on these animals.

I can tell you that people here like all sorts of kings. So you will get a different opinion from everyone here. I work manly with Florida kings (aka Brooks) so I am partial to them because I like them as pets and ease of care. But the more challenging ones (like pyros, knoblochi, zonata, Mole kings, speckled kings) can be rewarding and are beautiful. There are so many flavors and each has it own pros and cons. Look around and stay a while. Well all be glad if you did.

..and please buy captive born babies and not adult wildcaughts. Remember this. At a show people are selling adults for a reason. You would be better off with a neonate or a sub adult yearling purchased from a breeder and not a broker or person who buys and sells other people stock.. JFYI to be on the safe side for sickness and parasites.
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"Yeah ya told me, and ya wrote it down too. But how the hell am I supposed to remember!"

I couldn't have said it better!..........that basically sums it up!.....That's exactly what I would tell someone starting a venture into the world of snake-keeping.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Well, OK and thanks to all I very much enjoy the discussion. I would never knowingly buy wild caught anything. This would not be a first snake as I have a hypo corn that I very much like, and as we all say, "nobody can have just one". I don't think I want a hatchling because of possibility of not eating. This leaves out the gray banded ?? I really prefer something with pattern/colors, good feeder, probably about juvie age, and one that would not grow large-leaves out Florida??, and handleable. In other words I guess I want all positive and no negative-lol. I have looked at the classifieds here and like such as Durango Mountain and Arizona Mountain. What do you think?? Thanks, David.

The two you mentioned are very beautiful, but as hatchlings both can be difficult to feed, unless they are already established.

Greeri's are not far off from Gray bands as far as feeding as hatchlings, but once established they do well.

Arizona's start similarly, and will on occasion, instinctively go off feed when fall approaches.

But neither is impossible. If you are looking for something a little bit older - say a yearling or better you shouldn't have any problems.

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"The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which ones pink?"

Hey, that's a beauty. OK and I was looking at the websites of Bob Applegate and Ric Blair. I really like the bold black/red/whites. Thanks, David

I would recommend a gray band or greeri. Like the previous poster said, I would make sure that you get one that is feeding, as baby alterna are picky. Alterna are great pets, don't get too big, and are very colorful.

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Genesis 1:1

Well, I do like the Alterna, gray band. So a juvie would probably not be a problem feeder?

Yeah, the thing to do is to make sure you buy a grayband from a trustworthy breeder that has the babies eating pinky mice ( I prefer frozen/thawed ). All my graybands, when I purchased them as babies, were eating pinks, and have done great.

Alterna, a lot of times, want to eat lizards right from the start. That is why some babies do not want to eat pinks right away.

A good, reputable, alterna breeder will be able to provide you with the right information on all babies.

Send me a message thru this post and I can point you towards an alterna breeder that has excellent graybands that eat mice. I bet Mike Russo, who posts on this forum, will have some pinky eating babies as well.

Take care!
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Genesis 1:1