Reptile & Amphibian Forums

You know ... Ive had this delima forever in deciding which King is my favorite .... I know Im going to catch hell for this .... lol .. but I honestly am not really fond of the pattern had by most Brooksi. Personally I like the normal, classic, 50/50 banded Cal kings the best but I like a larger animal and many cals seem to remain small. Easterns are great ... but it seems to be such a crapshoot in selecting an animal that wont dull as it ages ... as many seem to do.

Soooo .... lets see some of your big Cals. How old are they and what measurements do you have on these guys. Have some pics with size references or of them being held??

SHOW THEM BAD BOYS OFF haha ...

Gracias ..

Okay...So mine's not really big at all. He's about four feet long and very slender, but he has a great personality.

My coastal Cal girl, about 5'

If you have any ... and 5' even ...

Desert banded Cal girl, about 4'

And desert broken stripped Cal king dude, about 4'

Sorry there isn't a size reference, but this big boy is almost 6 feet long. He is about 18 years old.

But if you want a big kingsnake, a four foot florida or eastern is a more massive snake than a 5-6 foot cal king and so it will look bigger. A 6 foot eastern/florida king is a massive snake. A 6 foot cal king looks noticeably smaller.

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

18 years old?!? Wow! I don't think I ever thought about how old snakes get, is that unusual?
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1.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0 Kisatchie Cornsnake

Eddie,......

While that is indeed an "older" nigrita, they, and many other colubrids can sometimes live years beyond that, but that depends on many factors. However, 18 years is certainly getting up there!

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

That's awesome. Great to know, though, as you might find difficulty leaving snakes in your will to just anyone!
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1.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0 Kisatchie Cornsnake

n/p
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

The original male ALBINO cal king, lived to 33 years of age(in captivity, was a wild caught adult) I am sure there are older, but most are not kept track of.

For ChrisH, a six foot burm makes a six foot eastern king look tiny. The request was large cal kings, not what is the most impressive at the same size. heck imagine what a six foot hognose would be like, or a six foot banded sandsnake, hahahahahahahahaha Or a six foot snail, oh my that would be impressive.

If in good care, most Kings should live 15-20 years, easily. I'd try for 20-25!

One man had a Cal King for 33 years, the record that I know of.

That's fascinating to me.

Can you imagine how many mice a snake eats in 33 years?
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1.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0 Kisatchie Cornsnake

The last time I really made an effort to measure this guy was about 4 years ago and he measured 5ft 4in. He has probably grown a little since then. He will be 16 in june.

Dont have a great size reference pic but I am six feet tall and have pretty big hands.

Thats plenty of reference you can tell hes a beast! A looker too ...