Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know it's baby time of year for nearly all snakes but thought I would share a couple of pics of our "leviathan proportioned" male Cal king. The snake is 9 or 10 years old and is the only non Pituophis that we own. We have had him since February, 2004 at which time, he was approximately 4 feet long. Now, he is nearly 6 feet long. His head is easily an inch long and change. So here's the potential of your baby kings someday...

Here's a closer look...

Anyone else have any super-size Cal kings? What's the max top end size known for these? Thanks for looking...

That is "indeed" a beauty!

Don't see many around that big. I can count on one hand how many I have seen that size in 40 years.
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www.Bluerosy.com

Muy Grande! I have had a few over 5' over the years, so a 6' would be a site to behold. I hope you pair it up with one of equal genetic potential...bigger is better! Personally, I don't think some will exceed 5' no matter how old or well fed, as you say, a 6'er is at the extreme end of normal. Are the sire and damm also large? How about the siblings? Or is it a "sport"?

Thanks for posting and nice work, Vic

Nice snake, not a huge fan of Desert Cals, but yours looks great. Like you, I do love my Pits!
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0.1 Northern Bull
1.0 Texas Red Bull
0.1 Kansas Yellow Bull
1.1 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
1.2 Coastal Cal Kings
1.1 Speckled Kings, Harris County, TX
1.1 Eastern Chain Kings (M from Union County NC & F from NC)
1.0 Hogg Island Boa
1.2 Ball Pythons

Don't know this snake's linage as we got it from a rescue zoo in Virginia (as a sizable adult) back in 2004. It was brought to the zoo as its previous owners no longer wanted it. The zoo owners and I had known each other for some time and when they took initial ownership of this snake, they called me and asked if I wanted it. End of story!

I have never brumated him in the 5.5 years since and as it is our only king, never had any plans beyond basic care and upkeep, though this guy gets a lot of attention from us, is well fed and well cared for. He is a gentle giant and is one of the coolest snakes we've ever owned period.

Due to the scarcity of kings in this size range, I would be open to pairing this guy with a large female desert Cal king someday.

Very cool! I've heard from some folks that Desert Phases can get bigger than coastals in some instances. Would be really interesting to know the history on that snake.

reako45

That might be the biggest cal I have ever seen. Can we get a shot with something in it for size comparison. I have one that is somewhere just shy of 5 and a half feet. He is a coastal phase. As a rule my deserts have been smaller (and more high strung) than my coastals. Anyone else notice a difference?

Here is at age 12ish? He is 17 now and a little larger.

Yeah, next time he sheds, I'll shoot a couple of pics with something in the photo for size reference. Difficult to tell from the photos above but he is a massive king. At the time, I was more interested in getting some good pics of him...