Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Petsmart today to buy some crickets for my beardie. Of course, I always have to check out the reptiles they have. One little guy, under the label of "Albino California Kingsnake" caught my eye. I asked the girl if I could hold him. He is most DEFINITELY an albino EASTERN Kingsnake. His chain pattern was VERY obvious. I wanted to bring him home so bad, but didn't have the money since it's right before payday, lol. That, and I don't know if my landlord (currently, parents) will let me bring home another snake yet.. I didn't quite tell them about the two corns yet. Eh, it's just one of their houses, they have others.

Sure did want that little fellow though... He was SO pretty.
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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.0.2 Cornsnakes
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan) (Deceased )
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

HAHA yeah, the petsmart here in VA has a "striped cal king" and its banded!!!! HAHAHAHA i thought it was so funny.... i'll try to take a pic next time i go...
~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
www.freewebs.com/soberserpents
Corns, Creamsicles, A Black Rat, Thayeri, Cal Kings, A Jungle Corn(Just A Pet), A Ball Python, A Bearded dragon, Leopard Geckos, Green Anoles, a Snapping turtle, and a white cheeked mud turtle

Be careful when making that assumption. Petsmart has contracts with bigger breeders to buy all their CHEAP stuff. Albino cal kings come in banded, striped and in between/abbarant phases. A snake that will look alot like an abbarant chain king will still have a cal king head. Just make sure to ask specific questions...ask if it came from a wholesaler or from a local breeder. If you are in a area where easterns are found, ask if a guy FOUND it. If you are still unsure, you can try and take a pic and ask what we think......problem is I breed albino chain kings and have NEVER got a real good picture of one...albinos just dont take good pics. The difference between a alb cal king and a alb chain king is several $$. If it doesnt make a difference to you by all means still get the snake, they will be just as easy to care for. Just do your best to try and ID it first. Good luck,Jeff

I've seen pictures of cal kings that have a chain pattern - I believe they are called yuma phase though I'm not positive.

Anyway I agree - get a pic.

And I agree - if in L g getula territory, ask if someone FOUND it and brought it in. AFAIK (I'm no eastern expert) the only known amel eastern lines are suspect (for good reason) of having eastern black in the mix, so if it is a WC amel eastern, find out as much as you can about who found it and where, and buy it - even if you can't keep it, someone will want it and compensate you well for it.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

PetSmart has a rule that local stores cannot buy herps locally, only from their list of "approved vendors". This is a short list-nationwide only three.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

thats funny... b/c my husband works for AAA and fixed a petsmart district managers vehicle.... and she asked for my business card for ordering more snakes... i dunno if it was just for her.... but that is interesting....
~kin
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~Sober Serpents~
www.freewebs.com/soberserpents
Corns, Creamsicles, A Black Rat, Thayeri, Cal Kings, A Jungle Corn(Just A Pet), A Ball Python, A Bearded dragon, Leopard Geckos, Green Anoles, a Snapping turtle, and a white cheeked mud turtle

Must have been just for herself, because they are quite strict about only ordering from the three approved vendors. That way they can track any problems, deaths, mortality rates, etc back to the source of the animal. Like most large corporations, they have a "SOP" for everything.....
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

Don't be surprised if some of the managers break the rules, or maybe even have different contracts.

A friend of mine (er, Father of a friend of mine) had a Radio Shack franchise and had it before they had the strict rule about only carrying Radio Shack merchandise. He was allowed to carry other products. Eventually Radio Shack said they would no longer supply him or renew his franchise - he sued them and won.

But even if some Petcos don't have alternate agreement, it would not surprise me if some bent or broke the rules from time to time.

I know of a Petco that was violating local state law by carrying Northern Leopard Frogs - which are (now) non commercial in this state, and technically a protected species. No other Petco had them, only this one ever did. If everything came from upstream, I doubt corporate would be stupid enough to sell an illegal low value frog - and if they were, more Petcos should have had them.
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I decided my old sig was too big.

that Radio Shack is a franchise. All PetSmart stores are owned by the corporation, not by local individuals. Managers have no latitude-they don't even order reptiles themselves-they send a short list of "wants" to the corporate HQ, which then decides what to order and does the order for them. Petsmart vendors have exclusive contracts with the corporation, which assures them that they (and they alone) will supply animals to Petsmart. Any store getting even a single animal from another source would place the entire company in a breach of contract situation-which I'm sure would be dealt with severely.

I don't know how Petco handles things, however.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

I DO know that both chains incorrectly label some of the animals they stock, regularly!
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Todd Hughes

no post
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

Any pics or sources for amel eastern blacks? I can not breed normal eastern blacks in VA but I can amels.........

Yeah Holly,....as some others have mentioned, although it might superficially "look" like an albino Eastern King, the actual likelihood of it NOT having genetic influence from the amel(albino) Cal. King, or even Black King(nigra) is HIGHLY unlikely. Those have been suspected of being a cross for many years, and have been viewed by many with a raised eyebrow.

There are many breeders that will introduce a desired genetic trait/mutation into a species or subspecies, then "back-breed" the offspring several times to the "targeted" species/subspecies"(i.e. Eastern King), so it more closely resembles the original subspecies of snake intended, then sold as such.

Not trying to discourage you from getting it if that's what you want, but rather giving you a little insight on the possibilities to help you better make an informed decision.

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