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I got my first king snake about 5 months ago. He has been a very calm and non-aggressive. Two days ago I got my second snake. My first snake goes crazy and strikes at itself, he is very jittery and anxious when he gets a whiff of the new snake. My question is: what is the best way to introduce the two snakes so they can get along and not hurt themselves or each other?

Davy

WHY?
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Why? Well, I just thought they might need to get alone with each other if one day they are going to breed. Yea, that probably is about two years away, but still I didn't know if I need to start them co-habituating while they are young.

This is all a new adventure for me. Just want to do things the right way.

Got me a pregnant mouse. The wife was surprisingly ok with that too. I'm so lucky, it's all good.
DAVY

First off, what type of KS are they?

Best time to introduce them is during brumation (cooling period) and they will bond without all the initial nervousness. But if the nervousness doesn't bother you then you can place them together at anytime (as long as they are wll fed)and just wait for them to get used to each other. Removing one all the time and reintroducing them will not solve the problem until they have suffiecint time together..

I recomend keeping sexed pairs together if you feed them well.

If you introduce a pair during non-brumation months it is expected that one or the other of the two will be nervous. This includes cruising around trying to get out of the cage,nose rubbing, striking ect. But after about 48 hours they will calm down. One is just nervous because they feel they may be a potential food item. But once they bond they will be alright.

On another note about cannibalism in kingsnakes. That usually happens when one or both are not being fed enough. So make sure you understand HOW MUCH is enough. Most people DON"T feed them enough and even on this forum you will get varied opinions on this. Give them as much as they will eat.... Always give your snakes choices in food, temp gradients and humidity. They know what to do.

These snakes are found together in nature. On top of that there would be no kings if they were natural cannablists.
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www.Bluerosy.com

The one is a reverse stripe California king and the one I just got, well I'm not sure what you call it. It's black with a white stripe down it's back. Maybe you can help if the picture turns out.

I not necessarily keeping them in the same cage all the time. But I will try putting them together for a while to see if they calm down. The one is fine and she is the smaller of the two.

Just imagine this, the family sitting around the TV,, the wife holding one snake, I'm holding the other and my daughter holding the mice. Just kidding we hold the mice at a totally different time.

Thanks for the info

DAVY

Good Info Rainer......

Davy,
The reason I asked why is because I thought you thought that it was okay just to throw a new king in with another........
That is not the right way to do it......
Follow what Rainer explained and all should be fine........I tend to find out which ones I would never house together early on.....LOL
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

That ok, I was not all that clear on my original past.

I didn't know you could actually house kingsnaks together. I thought you would go to bed with two and wake up with one.

DAVY

It does happen1 Yes they may be fine together, but maybe not. Just be warned and carefull. Snakes are instinctual, and some not all, have strong taste for other snakes. Why do you think the one snake wants the hell out?
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

oops sorry i forgot the pictures.

Davy,

Do you have a larger picture of the female? I'd love to have a better look at that one.
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

Davy, where did you get that wide striped cal king in the small picture since the picture is off of my website. http://shoresenuffsnakes.com/viewBreeder.aspx?id=147

LOL!
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www.Bluerosy.com

I would like to apologize to everyone for the confusion, no deception was intended. My lap top crashed last night so I got on my wife's lap top, which did not have pictures of my snakes on it. I was just trying to get identification on my new kingsnake. The back one with a white strip down the back.. Again I'm very sorry.

Here are the actual pictures of my snakes and a picture of my mice, which just had her babies this morning.

Sorry Aubrey I could not retrieve pic of Strike (reverse strip Cal). I will take new ones. She has grown three inches.

Please forgive me.
DAVY

The black and white one with the narrow stripe is from Scissors crossing area in/near Borrego Natl park just east of San Deigo.

The yellow one is a generic bannana king which is a mix of localities from coastal kingsnakes.

note* the Black and white striped one is a DESERT phase cal king. Scissors crossing area is the only place you will find desert phase tripers in the country. It is a super cool locale and only a few miles square that you will find these gems.

Also note* The first pic you showed from Don Shores snake may not have been a "true" scissors crossing locale (only Don can tell you the lineage of that one for sure). I mantion the pic you got from his site because it had a super wide top stripe that was most likely achived from crossing coastal "yellow" stripers into the desert banded phase and/or into the scissors crossing stripers.

However, some people like Tim Turmezie (sp) have selectivly bred pure scissors crossing locale stripers for a wider top stripe. But they cost more and usually go in the $175 range.

Anyway, the B&W striper you have is a classic Scissors crossing and because of the small area they come from are very unique and a super cool calif king to have.
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www.Bluerosy.com

Hey no problem. I'd love to see how he has progressed!

Oh, and just for clarification, Strike is a high white/yellow stripe, not a reverse stripe. A reverse stripe would have a black stripe down the center of the back, rather than a white one. Strike's father is a true reverse stripe:

Your stripe female looks very nice! I like that her white stripe is unbroken all the way down to her tail. I bet those two will produce some neat babies in a few years!
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

Thanks Aubrey, for clearing that up about Strike. I can't wait to see what you have this season. Here is some pictures of Strike.

Later pic's of Raven. The strip is what turned me on to her.

DAVY

Thanks for the pics of Strike... he is looking great! Raven is a beauty as well. There is something really nice about the normal stripes. They just look so neat.

Can't wait to see what they will be producing in a few years... especially from the genes that Strike has. Do you know what the parents of Raven look like?
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

No I don't, but I will see if I can get some pictures of them. When and if I do I will post them.

DAVY

Raven

what kind of snakes are they and my next would be what size are they.
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“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emmerson

WWW.TDSNAKES.BLOGSPOT.COM

The Lampropeltis getula double reverse stripe california king male is 18 inches and the other one I GUESS is just another version of that, she is about 12. The pictures are in my "apologize" post.

Thanks

DAVY

Really nice looking pair of Cal Kings. Once both reach breeding size should make for some interesting possibilities.

reako45

Thanks. I appreciate the comment. Yea excited about the breeding, until then, just enjoying watching them grow.

Meanwhile, trying the mice thing, keeping them alive, having babies, stuff like that.

Thanks

DAVY

Then following Rainer's advise would work.

I disagree with his feeding advice but his is one strategy among many that works.
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“Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emmerson

WWW.TDSNAKES.BLOGSPOT.COM

Yep, it's Obama's fault. Don't worry though, as soon as he get's out of office your snakes will get along.
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www.hcu-tx.org/