Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In my mind this is just a huge hatchling. I was able to glance through 3 lines of Beaufort babies hatched in july. The one adult female just cranked out big babies. Maybe twice as big as the other lines. This girl was the biggest, bigger than any of the males I saw. I'm curious about opinions/experiences...do you find that bigger hatchlings equate to bigger adults, or do smaller babies sometimes catch up?

I wish I could capture the color a little better. It's the old "pictures just don't do these justice" theme. And as calm as I've ever seen as far as baby kings go.

Yeah, many times smaller hatchlings do catch up, and can even grow to become the largest ones, but all this depends on so many darn variables, it's virtually impossible to say. And of course on the other side of the coin, the larger hatchlings can stay growing at an even clip and remain larger into adulthood as well. There just isn't any absolutes when it comes to snakes, or any animal for that matter, it just depends on too many things.

I have an Outer Banks female that used to be the tiny nine gram runt when newly hatched, and now she is the big monster of the 1.2 trio I have. All are extremely healthy and robust, but she really took off early, and has remained so.

Males though, are generally substantially larger than females in most(maybe all) of the getula complex. This seems to be especially so with brooksi and Easterns.

~Doug

pic taken exactly one year ago

Pic taken a couple months ago

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Diamond-jungle carpet crosses have their own place. Seriously, thats the nicest OBK I've seen, and I just handled some impressive ones this weekend.
And your answer pretty much re-affirms my thoughts and what I've seen, as well as the guy who bred these. Only time will tell.

Hey DONV, did you get those from Mark Hardie?

Yes. You were right, good guy with some nice kings. Turns out he's only an hour away so that worked out well.

Glad to hear it. You are close to me as well then. How did you like "buck" the monster king!!? He is killer.

Was that the huge 6 ft. plus father to the ones Don posted?. I'd like to see a pic of that impressive guy if it was possible.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Doug, I might go up to Mark's this weekend and take some photos. I will be sure in include a photo of "Buck", and yes that is the same father of my pender county eastern kings. He is a big boy for sure!! The male of the pair I got from him is almost thirty inches already and came home with me in a deli cup a few months ago. Crazy.

Yeah Joe, that would be great if you could get a pic if you go there this weekend.

Sounds like yours is growing like California sea kelp in summer time..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Joe, unfortunately, I didn't get to see him. Now I forget exactly, but I think Mark said he was back at the house? He had the female there, and she's a good sized female, but nowhere near 6'.

Oh, she is nothing like him at all. Buck has his own large custom enclosure in the "main house". Mark has a great setup with that dedicated snake house. I wish I had it!

LOL!!,...thanks a bunch Don. It's funny that you mentioned the Jungle Carpet python thing, because I've heard the same thing before from someone else about the resemblance there.

Again, those are some great looking Easterns you posted, so have fun with that group!

take care, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Awesome looking snake Doug!

Thanks Joe, I really like her a lot too. Those and a few others are among my favorites in my collection.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Eastern kings are not "big money snakes", but that is not why I like snakes and not why I keep them. If I can make a few bucks and support my addiction of keeping them I am happy. My easterns are definitely at the top of my list of snakes I like to handle. I am with you.

I dig what you're saying there for sure, and high dollar stuff isn't necessarily an only reason to like certain snakes.

You do know that those Outer Banks can be extremely pricey compared to Easterns though, right?. Hatchlings can go for up to around $200 a piece, and are the rarest form of all getula. So they aren't exactly cheap snakes. They can be real tough to find too, and many are often sold before they are even hatched from people being on waiting lists.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

That is true. I did forget how pricey they are. I don't have any of those YET (LOL) so that is probably why I overlooked it. I have heard how great they are to have as well though so I know I will have to make some cage space. My buddy Mark has some of those too and they will be on my wish list for next year.

Yes,...I am quite sure you will just love owning some sticticeps in the future Joe. I really love the fact that they are so unique and distinct looking, and only come from an extremely small thin isolated area too. Another cool deal about them is the fact that they have been so taxonomically problematic since their very first description over 40 years ago too, this just makes them very special in my opinion.

When you score some, you definitely won't be disappointed!

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

........since their first description over 60 years ago, not 40..LOL!...67 years to be exact.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Well I'll be damned, my wife even chimed in the say they were neat looking. She never does that! Now I HAVE to get some.

Yeah Joe,........you know when a non-snake woman says something looks cool,...then it DEFINITELY has to be!..LOL!

She's got a good discerning eye buddy!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"