Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys, I keep five different speceis of kingsnakes, but I just got my first mexicana species today.

Here's some pics. It was sold as a thayeri (and to me it looks like one)

But I've looked back at past threads, and noticed there are a lot of opinions about crossing localities and ssp. I must admit my knowledge of the mexicana species is very limited compared the gutela species.

Thanks for looking guys, and I hope to visit this page as much as the main kingsnake section.

(I don't have know the breeder's name right now, but I can get it easily. I know that he posts animals all the time in the classifieds and I think his first name was "Mike"
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1.0.0 Lampropeltis getula holbrooki
0.1.0 Lampropeltis getula californae
0.0.1 Lampropeltis getula nigra
1.0.0 Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri
2.3.0 Eublapharis macularius macularius
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
0.1.0 Gerrhosaurus major major

Looks like a Thayeri to me..mike bodner

Mike, does this look like your stock? It was an 08 hatchling........Like I said, I'll find out in a few days as to who the original breeder was/is.

....but just curious as to whether it looks like some of your past stock. And it looks extremely close to the thayeri in the below thread (also your stock).

Thanks!
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1.0.0 Lampropeltis getula holbrooki
0.1.0 Lampropeltis getula californae
0.0.1 Lampropeltis getula nigra
1.0.0 Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri
2.3.0 Eublapharis macularius macularius
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
0.1.0 Gerrhosaurus major major

Hi.....no he's not mine I don't think. Don't remember that one...mike bod

I really love this one Mike, that msp is out of this world!
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Michelle
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Thanks Michell. That one is long gone. It was cool though.....Mike

Hi...heres a pic of my thayeri I got from Mike in November..Jasper is awesome...sorry I am not the best with the cam...

Indictment,

Looks like a "thayeri" to me as well...I can see brown iris and it's characters don't raise any flags...

How serious are you with ID'ing its "lineage"? First step would be ID'ing the breeder & acquire background info (who did your breeder acquire stock from) & photos of the parents...

I also recommend going to Bob Hansen's website "Sierraherps" and begin reading the literature there...Labial counts, Ventral Scale Counts (VSC's), etc will help a bit as well. Start with Garstka's 1982 paper "Systematics"...

Welcome to the thayeri world...

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CSRAJim

Thanks Jim!

Like I said, I'm experienced with getula but mexicana is completely new to me. However, I must admit that I really enjoy this guy. Judging from this one, they appear to be less nippy as neonates, and i do enjoy not having to worry about my fingers getting nipped during feeding time(californiae & brooksi).

I will certainly check out that material, thanks for the reference!
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1.0.0 Lampropeltis getula holbrooki
0.1.0 Lampropeltis getula californae
0.0.1 Lampropeltis getula nigra
1.0.0 Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri
2.3.0 Eublapharis macularius macularius
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
0.1.0 Gerrhosaurus major major

Indictment,

I work with Brooksi as well and I'm just glad that they (along with the other "getulas" do not grow to 30 feet! Ha! Ha!

Also, my mexicana's are the most laid back animals I've ever worked with for the most part...I'm occasionally sampled as a food item at feeding time...

Bob has an abosilutely wonderful "bibliography" of references on his wesite (sincere thanks Bob)...You'll even find sketches of head patterns there that are over 100 years old (1897)...Yep, they were drawing "Triofoliate Y" patterns back then...

Later,
Jim.
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CSRAJim

.......a 30 ft Brooksi would be very scary indeed!

Yes, I must admit that I have trouble distinguishing between greeri, alterna, leonis, webbi, ruthveni, and mexicana. But I imagine it gets a lot easier once you actually see/handle the snakes in person.

I've actually been reading from that site a lot and there is a ton of new info that I'm trying to learn...........it'll probably take me awhile to sift through it all, and I'll probably have to read it multiple times so it sticks in my head.

By the way, how up top date is that SierraHerps site? Are the mexicana kingsnakes still regarded as ssp or entirely different species?.......or does it vary from source to source? I always use the CNAH's database, but they don't list the mexicana species at all due to the boundary being America/Mexico.
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1.0.0 Lampropeltis getula holbrooki
0.1.0 Lampropeltis getula californae
0.0.1 Lampropeltis getula nigra
1.0.0 Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri
2.3.0 Eublapharis macularius macularius
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
0.1.0 Gerrhosaurus major major

Indictment,

Yep...We'd most certainly be on the menu! Ha! Ha!

Bob's bibliogrpahy is as good as it gets in one location. Due to his work as a "clearing house", you can read and even download publications there that would take years to even find much less have access to on line...

Hey, join the club regarding the "debate" as to where the "Mexicana's" are classified...It's part of my enjoyment in working with them...

Yeah, I have re-read stuff all the time as well...Ha! Ha!

Later,
Jim.
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CSRAJim