Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My buddy found this guy outside by his truck.I think it was a pet but dont know cause we live in san diego.It is well tempered and scareless and parasite free and it also looks like no wild king I've seen.Thanks,Rich

It's not hypo but its an above average looking king. Very nice find. This one was also found in the S.D. area, and even though its very light it's not considered hypo.


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Muhammad Ali

That's a gorgeous snake!
I love the head pattern.

Is ity just me, or do the best head patterns tend to be SoCal ??
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I decided my old sig was too big.

The best head patterns tend to be from S.D. Co. When you see the "V" shape behind the head (like the one I posted) it's more likely going to be from S.D. Co.
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Muhammad Ali

Have you bred that snake to test the possibility of an inheritable trait? That individual clearly has reduced melanin. Doesn't mean it is necessarily passed on by simple recessive inheritance, but the snake is obviously missing a good amount of melanin.
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Mark

I didn't keep the snake, but all this talk has me thinking I should have. lol Hubbs told me they were just a light phase and not hypo. The area they come from has the most variation in the shade of brown anywhere. There you find kings in every shade of brown possible. I actually know someone that knows someone (lol) that's working with that line. He may see this and add something but I'm not sure if he knows anymore than I do about it.
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Muhammad Ali

Hey Ross, Once I found a very light coastal Banded cal king very close to the nice pic you posted on Camp Pendleton a few years ago. Its was actually a really great place to herp and photograph. unfortunately I am no longer inthe military so I cant access it anymore. I was just curious are you familiar with Verbenia in Riverside. I have never been there but I hear the cal kings are really nice over there. Are they a mixture of coastals and desert bandeds? Dave

You must have me mixed up with someone else, that wasn't me that posted the Camp Pendleton picture. I do know a little about Verbenia though. Me and my friend found a 54" Cal king there about 7 years ago. It was the biggest one I've seen in the wild. I've found kings at Whitewater, Tipton, and Snow Creek and all look identical to the Verbenia kings I've seen. That whole area is considered a sort of intergrade zone for the coastal and desert phase kings. There's also just a bit of variation from one king to the next. The shade of brown is very dark in that area, but you can see a slight difference in shade. When I say slight I mean slight. lol Also the light rings range from almost white to a slight yellowish color, but the vast majority are very whitish. Juveniles and yearling's always appear black but lighten to a dark brown as they get bigger. The farther west you go from Whitewater, the more coastal they look. For the most part I consider them desert phase with a few not having that nice white. There's also variation in the light colored band width and band count.

Speaking of hypos, in 2005 I found a yearling on Whitewater that was way lighter brown than any adult (which should be lighter) I've ever seen there. Including the 54" king. Here's a picture of it as a yearling with a DOR king from the same road. The DOR is what all sub adults look like in that area, almost black.

A photo of him with a juvenile from the same area

And this photo taken under the sun

A close up of him now

An adult with a bit wider than normal light bands for the area

May or may not be hypo. I'll have to breed it to find out. If you ever find one like this from that area, please report it. I'd be very interested in seeing another one.

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Muhammad Ali

Is that one of those blue eyed blondes ? I didnt realize those were colored like that in the wild. Neat find!
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Thanks for the replys guys!Hypo or not it is a cool looking snake.Hey Ross,did you keep the one in your pic and breed it or no?I'm interested in seeing what the offspring look like if so.

The funny thing about this whole situation is the guy who scored this snake was just at my house trying to get me to sell him one of my prized female suriname boas and I told him if he didnt lay off the drugs I'd have to stop hanging out with him lol. Then, two days later he walks outside and finds this sitting next to his truck.I guess it was meant to be.

I told him I'd start a breeding project with him if he wants.It would be a nice break from the boa world and good for him to have the joy of hatching lil babys,witch is the best part IMO.I have a rack collecting dust I'm gonna give him and an infinint supply of food.

Now the question is what direction to go with breeding.I'm gonna probe it in a couple of weeks so that has alot to do with it.If its a male I'll have to find a sub adult female and I may just wind up buying whatever someone is willing to sell.If its a girl then I can buy pretty much any juvie male I want and grow them to maturity at the same time.Any suggestions?

Also Does this animal(the kingsnake) look local specific or anything? I'm no kingsnake pro and have alot of reading to do so sorry for the rookie questions.Thanks,Rich

Its hard to go by that picture, but I think if I seen the head I could narrow it down to S.D. Co. Some kings in S.D. Co. have a unique look and others are normal. The bands are also a little wider than you normally see in Riverside & L.A. Co. I say normally because there may be some but I've never seen any outside S.D. that looked like that. If I were you I would get a yellow & brown or yellow & black striped Cal king to breed it to. There's also lots of other cool looking designer morphs to choose from. Personally I like to keep things as locality specific as I can. Mixing a desert & coastal phase together is not my idea of a good project.

No, I didn't keep the snake but I imagine the juveniles were brown but not as light as an adult. Good luck with you snake, its a nice one.
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Muhammad Ali