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I love my grease kings!

These are true loclity specific snakes coming from the center of a concrete jungle known as Los Angeles.

The name Grease kings is fitting because they come from a small area known as the oil fields. Also because unlike other Cal kings, they are black and shiney. To say the least these are unque for sevral reasons.

I can't say enough thanks to Byron! Who hooked me up with these rare kings. Byron you know i love these guys! Next season these will be my only non-brooksi king added on my website!
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www.Bluerosy.com

......works great on hands and engine parts too..LOL!

yeah, those are very cool kings Rainer!

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

You know normally I wouldn't get excited about something like this but they do have a certain appeal! Also knowing where they come from makes them all the more interesting and I like the dark heads. Good luck with them Rainer.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Once you introduce the ghost into the line you can call 'em SMOG kings!!
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Man, that cracks me up!!! I do have to agree with Jorge that their mystic is more related to where they are found IMHO. But their looks are pretty cool too. I see some nigrita influence there. Pretty neat that that group of animals can survive in the middle of L.A for sure!!

I see some nigrita influence there

Yeah but how did the nigrita ever come close to the southern calif coast?

Look at this pic of the belly. Looks like a recessive.

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www.Bluerosy.com

>>Man, that cracks me up!!! I do have to agree with Jorge that their mystic is more related to where they are found IMHO. But their looks are pretty cool too. I see some nigrita influence there. Pretty neat that that group of animals can survive in the middle of L.A for sure!!

Not Nigrita....Splendida......
Oh yeah....Nigrita are melanistic Splendida.....

Rainer....I think they are killer.......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

Man those are sweet. congrats

Those are some Great looking Kings, Good job.

Nice looking kings, Rainer. Byron hooked you up with what I would call "pic of the litter".

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Ross. It's funny..... I look at that field with mixed emotions.. It's an eyesore and a gold mine all in one. It's been just as rewarding as it's been frustrating to me.

and to think that after everything that has happened to that spot kings are still there.......

byron.d

Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time I went there was at 4PM Jan-15th 2006. The sun was getting low and it was getting cold. It was a strange feeling there alone in that field with the squeaking of the oil pumps on top of the field. I was waiting for someone to yell "Hey, what are you doing in there?" hahaha There was scattered bits of AC everywhere but most of it was crap with just a few good looking boards. There was piles of debrie with boards and such in the mix. I took some and laid them out. Even though I knew my chances of finding anything were pretty slim, I was still very hopeful. I flipped everything but was saving a big Palm tree trunk for last to attempt to roll. I tried rolling it at the end but it was embedded in the ground too deep. I then noticed a few pieces of its bark had been pulled off and were laying next to it. They were the very last items to flip, so I looked under them. Under the last was a baby Grease king. I couldn't believe I got so lucky to find one on my first try there. It was the craziest looking king because until then I had never seen one like that. I hit that field so many times after that but found nothing until late April when I found a king on each day of one weekend there. Its pretty crazy how it goes there, you never know what to expect. Here's some pictures from that first day. I only wish I was better at taking pictures back then.

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That was an awesome account. And the pictures to go along with it was a surprise. thanks for sharing.

Kinda wish KS had a favorites function here as i like this thread so much i want to mark it for later.
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www.Bluerosy.com

Glad you liked it, Rainer. Its really a neat situation to find kingsnakes in. That field is like going back a hundred years in time before Long Beach was developed to the point it is now. There are other small strips of habitat in LB where I've found kings, but they didn't produce the dark ones like you see at this field.
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I knew they would be outstanding once they shed out, and they definitely didn't disappoint! That group is the darkest I've ever produced and they will only get better with age....

That sub-adult pair has the potential to throw just as dark or even darker offspring.

Thanks again for everything!

byron.d

I just drove past the "oil fields" this morning on my way to work. How amazing it is that such a unique Cal king lives in those lots. Im also glad that folks are working with those Cals should those fields eventually be turned into asphalt one day.
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Mark

Oil fileds helping to preserve a species! HMMM..Where is CNN?
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

np