Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have to say that I really love speckled kings, they are beautiful. They however, are rarely available, and I am wondering why? Is there no demand for them, or is there some kind of legality issue, or what? I have been to lots of large reptile shows, no speckled kings, except for the morphs, sorry but you cant beat mother nature imo, so what gives?

Thx
Chris

I will be attempting to breed this SW Louisiana pair as soon as the female sheds, any day now. You are right though they are rarely seen offered.

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Matt Kauffman

One man's treasure may be another man's trash, I truly love the specks, but clearly some are nicer than others. Some of the white wall hets are as close to being perfect as I have seen. Some people go for the lemon yellows, some the black and ivory, but they are all really great snakes. The babies are really small, that may throw some people off.

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Todd Hughes

That white-sided speckled is incredible Todd. I really like those, as well as some of the other morphs that holbrooki come in. The lavender specks are very nice, as well as the regular albinos.
Steve

Thanks Steve, I couldn't resist! That one you are holding shows the true "classic" speck pattern, small, irregular shaped "flecks" on a black background, the quintessential speck!
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Todd Hughes

Heh, were were you the 70s when I was trying to hypnotize people into buying them?

lol, almost fell out of my chair

Maybe my taste in things is why my brother calls me dummy?

lol
Chris

Nah, you're no dummy. Any getula is a damn good snake. The first time I heard "locality holbrooki" I went "Huh?, you're screwin' with me, right?" Where I am from Louisiana, during that time, it was on the very high end of the trash snake spectrum - it was the best trash snake you could catch - and they where EVERYWHERE. A 5 snake day was the norm. I would ship them to Miami, and a wholesaler would give me a baby boa for every two holbrooki I would send him.

So today, I am an alterna guy, but I curious about which locality for holbrooki is the most prized? The ones from New Orleans area have a slight yellow to them, but you can also find regular white speckleds. The prettiest I've ever see are really bright orange speckleds from the Beaumont area. That Beaumont snake is also the largest holbrooki I've seen. So what is the most south-after locality?

You are right, the specks from Beaumont are big. I caught one years ago in Cameron Parish, La, which isn't that far from east Tx. It was easily over 4 ft., and very pretty. It was in a nature preserve though, so I released it.
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Matt Kauffman

They're not as flashy or big or unique as some of the other getula subspecies. I still see them pretty frequently, usually as albinos or lavenders. They can be collected from quite a few states.

The babies are small and can be difficult to keep at their size. Breeders probably don't feel like breeding them in large quantities for this reason.

There are a lot more Cal kings than Florida kings being bred in captivity. It all comes down to demand. Both subspecies are popular, but Cal kings are usually a lot more striking and bold in appearance, making them more attractive in most people's eyes.

Thanks for the input from everyone, I just bought one, wich will be my first ks ever, except for some milks I had as a kid. I have lotsa corns, a pair of hognose, and a few boas, and my wifes ball pythons are worth mentioning. I find speckled kings dead on the road once in a while in missouri, but have never seen a live one. The one I just bought is a wc, from texas. He should arrive this week.

Thanks again
Chris

Plus, the specks take a while to get the pattern, most start of looking like a messy splendida, maybe people don't like waiting for the ontogenic change, but I find it very cool. The babies can be pretty pissy, defensive, I call it "spirited", lol!

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Todd Hughes

I like the head on that one in the top pic and those color on the third one.
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

choose a middle and I'll splice one up for you, lol! J/K!!!
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Todd Hughes

Not as flashy? hhhmmmm. Just don't say that in front of this gal. She'll end up giving you a tail flick and a rattle of disagreement, hehe. Honestly, I find these wild type beauties more striking that some of the CA and FL Kings out there. May they be CB or wild types. IMHO.

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Jonel M. Lopez

www.spsnakes.com

Thats a beauty!

Now THAT'S a speckled king!!!
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Todd Hughes

Damn that's a NICE snake!
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1.1 Newton County, IN Bulls
1.0 Texas Red Bull
0.1 Kansas Yellow Bull
2.1 Red X Yellow Bulls
1.0 Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada Bull
1.1 Carolina Northern Pines (M from NC, F from SC)
1.1 Henderson County, NC Black Rats
1.1 Gray Banded 'Blair's' Kings
2.2 Coastal Cal Kings
1.1 Speckled Kings, Harris County, TX
1.1 Eastern Chain Kings (M from GA & F from NC)
1.0 Hogg Island Boa
1.2 Ball Pythons

They may start of smaller then some of the other getula, but I find them as aggressive a feeder as any out there. A normal, high speckled king, no matter what color the specks are, is a gorgeous animal in my book.

That's a fine-looking snake, Steve!

That speck looks exactly like the pair I have from here in La. Steve.
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Matt Kauffman

.

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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

wow what bright colouring i like the high yellows myself after seeing your pics
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Cheesemonkey

I like how on a lot of these the specks orientate themselves and look like flower petals or other weird abstracts, they are just a cool little king!
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Todd Hughes

Doug, that is definitely one of my favorite specks..........great looking snake man!
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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

Thanks.I didnt keep speckled kings.I found and released several over a four year period but when I found this one I flipped out.I always wanted a very yellow one and this one was it.
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

Those yellow Specks sure are gorgeous. Wow!

reako45

I have wondered why specks are not more popular also. Somehow they acquired a reputation for being aggressive, but they are no more so than any getula. It may have something to do with where they occur in the wild. The two geographic races of kingsnakes which are most popular, Calikings and Florida kings, both are found in populous states with a strong tradition of herpetoculture. California and Florida. Specks on the otherhand are found in the Lower MS Valley. Not so much of a tradition of herpetoculture here. Not many people working on speck morphs (other than the whitewall). I agree with you about specks. They are, to me, really neat looking snakes in their normal form.

This is the one I just got, let me know what you think!

http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=59&de=666281

Thx
Chris

That snake looks nice (hard to tell the color those pics are not great).Did you ask them if the snake has eaten mice?.Thats very important.Many wild caught snakes won't take mice.It was caught
9-19-09. Do they mean 9-19-08 ?
Is it an adult?
Not sure I like the idea of buying or selling wild caught snakes but let us know how you make out and good luck.
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

I talked with the guy on the phone, said the date was a typo. It was found feb of 09 on a road in texas. Feeding on mice. I hope it does well also, I think its going to be good to go.
Thx
Chris

I really like how the full yellow row of scales creep up the sides from the belly.
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Todd Hughes

This question can also be applied in respect to L.g. nigra

Why are black kings not offered? They aren't very colorful........or even highly speckled like holbrooki. Could that be why?
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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

I once asked a breeder about Speckleds. He said pretty much the same thing about them being small as babies. I've also heard about them being difficult to get started feeding. This is my '05 female I got from Isis Reptiles. Mike usually has them @ all the shows for good prices.

reako45

See, now call me crazy, but I LIKE the bone white speckleds as well, I like the bright yellows too, but they are both good in my book, some are better looking than others, then there are the ones I have seen around from Kansas that hold the bars on the back, another striking trait on certain animals.

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Todd Hughes

I agree the bone white is also nice.My yellow on is from east kansas but i have seen the ones with the all black blotches and speckeled background.I wonder if they retain that as adults.

BTW does anyone have multiple locale speckled kings here with photos?
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

Todd, I was just going to say, the bone white speckleds are my favorites. Those I think, are the hardest to find. Next time you make it to Virginia, they have (or used to have) a nice white speckled king at the Virginia Zoo (in Norfolk) I'll have to make a trip this year to see if he's still there.
Steve

East Texas.

Anyone know the locality date on the Whitewall specks?
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Signature edited

Tom has the best info that i know of.
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Todd Hughes

Okay i forgot that I read this :

http://www.tomssnakes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40&Itemid=66
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Signature edited

Love my Whitewalls. This het was hungry! It was cute at first, then he wouldn't stop eating my finger. Finally pried him off with a few of these bread bag tabs.

I don't say this very often but..That is a great pic!

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Signature edited

Hey Rainer. I was just feeding some Brooksi I got from you. They're all doing well. I just saw your website the other day. Looking good!

It was too funny when that speck bit me. It didn't hurt at first, so I grabbed my camera. Then I had to find batteries. After a few minutes, the snake started digging those little teeth into my finger pretty good, working his way toward my knuckles. I tried putting him under the water faucet, which did nothing. Then I tried some olive oil... again... nothing. Finally I used the bread bag tabs to wedge between my finger and the snakes' teeth. It wasn't easy, but it worked. I was very relieved!

Luckily neither one of us was injured. Needless to say I keep that guy well fed now. I may breed him this year him to the Whitewalls female which Tom was incredibly kind to give me. I'll have to get some fresh pics of her. Definitely one of my favorite snakes.

Beautiful speck. What part of East Texas? i'm in Port Arthur, and ours are more yellow.
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Greg Jackson

Not sure Greg. I was just told East Texas.

Greg, how did Port Arthur fare with the storm? I did some hurricane shutters on the TPWD's new building out there, looks like a fun place to herp!
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Todd Hughes

I hope all this great talk gets more interest in Speckleds. Great to see everyone's photos and comments. I love my pair and its clear that they defiantly ROCK!!!
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1.1 Newton County, IN Bulls
1.0 Texas Red Bull
0.1 Kansas Yellow Bull
2.1 Red X Yellow Bulls
1.0 Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada Bull
1.1 Carolina Northern Pines (M from NC, F from SC)
1.1 Henderson County, NC Black Rats
1.1 Gray Banded 'Blair's' Kings
2.2 Coastal Cal Kings
1.1 Speckled Kings, Harris County, TX
1.1 Eastern Chain Kings (M from GA & F from NC)
1.0 Hogg Island Boa
1.2 Ball Pythons

Actually, we fared a little better with Ike than Katrina. The big scare with Ike was storm surge. We have a 14' seawall around the city, and got a 13' storm surge. Along the seawall, waves were crahsing over, but the levees held. The wind damage was less severe than Katrina. I had $22,000 damage with katrina, and only about $16,000 with Ike. Insurance covered most, so I am good. The herping is fun here. Lots of water snakes, garter snakes, ribbon snakes, a good number of Speckled kings, some Eastern Hognose and of course, our share of water moccassins. I'm not quite sure yet how the storm affected all the snakes...I have found a few moccassins and ribbon snakes so far. Really would like to find a few local Holbrooki. Most here have real clean speckling with little banding. This weekend is going to be my first real herping of the spring. Wish me luck.

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Greg Jackson

If you find animals without traces of residual banding a lot of folks would love to see them. Good luck.

I bet you do well, it is time!!!
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Todd Hughes