Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do you know which kingsnake that gets the largest?
And is it males or females that gets bigger?

Thanks Jonas

I think Easterns typically get the biggest but I'm not sure.
Some of the tropical milk snakes may beat them.

I don't think sex affects the size of kings like it does with some snakes but someone else may know better than 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)

BlueKing(Carsten Zoldy) has had some 6 footers. I saw his in Daytona. That monster was as big around as a coke can. I bought a pair of the babies. They are South GA Eastern Kings. Here is a thread from last month. http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1373328,1373513

Hatchlings I got from him.

Well, I've seen some absolutely enormous brooksi-but I agree it would be hard to beat these S. GA easterns. I'm raising 2.2 '06s, and the biggest male is already crowding 4 feet!

Brad Chambers

Eastern Kings tend to be the longest and currently hold the record for KINGSNAKES (82". I have had a few six footers myself. Right now I only have one that is a little over six foot, but he's only nine years old, so he'll be around for awhile! My biggest ever was a 6'5" male that passed away a couple of years ago.
And speaking of male kingsnakes: They DO get bigger than females! They average around 6"-12" longer than females AND almost always grow faster too. I have NEVER had a six foot female in my 25 years of keeping & breeding them. As a matter of fact, as of just last year, I finally have a female that is a five footer (for the first time ever),(but I have, and had lots of males that are 5 - 5.5 foot)
Florida Kings also get pretty big. I have a 5.5 foot male that is just about as thick as my 6 foot Eastern.

Although not called kingsnakes, the milksnakes, such as a Honduran Milksnake (which are close relatives) in Central America have been known to reach 8 feet! Check out the old pic in the milksnake forum that just got re-posted. That thing is a monster!
Here's some old pics of two six foot Easterns (the one in the top pic is my nine-year old male):

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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

It would be interesting to see how big females who do not put resources towards egg laying during their young years (when most growth happens) get.
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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)

Here's my ONLY 5 foot female that I've ever had. She did not breed for her first time until last year, when she was already all grown up (6 years old), and 5 feet long. She didn't produce any eggs for me then, but double clutched (on her own) this year - go figure!
But as you can see, the females' max size is still limited.
Another point to consider: It took my male/s around 3 years to reach 5 feet, wheras the female took about 5 years to reach that size as a virgin, even while being fed very well! This shows that it is natural law for males to be consistently bigger (on average), than females, even when they're not using up resources for breeding.
Here's a pic of my big girl (I bred her to my six foot male last year and this year, and finally got babies THIS year):

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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

Almost forgot:
Do you still have some male multicarinatas? E-mail me.
Thanks,
carstenzoldy@yahoo.com
Zee
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"I am an expert on everything, but I know so little and have so much to learn!" -Carsten "Zee" Zoldy-

the 82" you mentioned was actually exceeded by a long term resident of the Norfolk Zoo that originated from the nags head area of north carolina. it measured 84" at its death in the early 1990s. I saw it myself and it truly was monstrous.