Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all
Does anyone know in which part of the eastern kingsnake distribution area, they tend to grow larger?

Thanks

Jonas

S.Georgia, South Carolina both have some huge easterns.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

Breeder of:
Green Tree Pythons
Jungle Carpet Pythons
Pastel, Pinstripe, FIRE, Piebald, Clown, Lavender Albino, Leucistic, and Spider Ball Pythons
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Locality Trans-Pecos Mexican Hognose Snakes
Southern Hognose Snakes
Eastern Hognose Snakes
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Hypo Checkered Garter Snakes
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Stillwater Hypo Bullsnakes
Patternless Bullsnakes
S. GA Eastern Kingsnakes
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Locality Mexican Milksnakes
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Locality Spotted Turtles

Hi,

I agree with my friend Brad 100%. I keep/have kept easterns from many parts of their range over the last 30 years and the southern ones consistantly get the largest (in my experience). I currently have many mature adult animals (6-12 years of age) and my male S. GAs are consistantly the largest, in the 6 foot range. I do have one male mixed county NJ and a NC (supposedly) lavender albino male that are in the same ballpark, but my other adults are consistantly smaller than the GAs.

Will

Ok thanks.
Just one more question. Which will get bigger? getula getula or getula floridana?

Thanks

Jonas

Dude!,......as a general rule, some forms of L.g.getula can attain a greater size than the rest of the getula complex, but there are ALWAYS exceptions to this. There are some HUGE floridana as well, and this just depends on too darn many factors. They BOTH can get very large.

There are many floridan that are bigger than certain Easterns, and vice-versa. The record length however, is an Eastern king specimen, not a floridana. I believe it was 82 inches (6'10". However, I am quite certain that there are some specimen's that are even larger than this out there.

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

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

That record sized getula was a Floridana/Eastern intergrade from Marion County, FL.

Now that you mention it, that does ring a bell, and I do remember reading that it was an intergrade found near Gainsville(Marion County). But this really just helps reinforce the point I was trying to make in that both can be rather equally large. I have seen some pics of some Easterns well in excess of 6 feet in the past.

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

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

While it is true that South Georgia easterns can grow really big, the adults average about 3 1/2 feet in the wild. The biggest kings I know of come from the West Coast of Florida, from Tampa Bay all the way up to the eastern edge of the Panhandle. The average adult size adult kings seem to be around 4 1/2 feet in this area. I have found wild kings in this area at around 5 1/2 feet, and have heard stories of kings much larger than that. There are pure getula, intergades, and Florida in this zone. The intergrades tend to grow the largest.

Most kings I have seen were from MD, home of "chuck the snake man". He had plenty of 6'ers, and I had one of those myself. In his freezer he has one, biggest I have ever seen. Very well could be record material, coiled in a compact ball its the size of a basketball, no kidding. That said on average I would say N.FL/S.Ga locales are usually bigger. Feed em racers and they max growth potential.