Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, I've been a herp owner for about five years now ( a beardie for 5 years, and the owner of an amel cornsnake for two years). Since getting my corn (who was literally dropped off at my house for "snake sitting" and never left) I've fallen in love with snakes and have been contemplating getting another ever since (I've heard herps likened to potato chips... you can never have just one!!).

I didn't really dwell on it too much, just waiting for the right one to come along. Then I found this little guy on Craigslist and fell in love. I couldn't stop thinking about him, even gave myself a few days to mull it over. Long story short, I picked him up today.

He's listed as a goini kingsnake.... after researching this, my head is spinning. Apalachicola.... blotched.... some saying it's not an accepted subspecies, some saying it is... different patterns and colors...He looks like some of the pics of goini kings I've seen, but not others.

Basically, I'm just saying hi, showing off my new baby, and hoping/wondering if anyone has any thoughts/ideas/opinions on whether or not he is a goini or any clarifications on what he would be classified as.

Thanks!!
Elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth,....

Well, that specimen could very well be a genuine Apalachicola "goini", aka Blotched kingsnake. They can be EXTREMELY variable and come in a plethora of different phenotypes(outward visual looks). Clutches can also contain hatchlings that have very different patterns too, as well as even the shades of colors. And at the same time, several common kingsnake crosses in the hobby can also produce snakes that tend to look very similar to that too. The name "goini" has been technically changed rently to "meansi" (2006), and is basically a patternless form of goini found more in the center of the range where both might occur in the panhandle portion of Liberty and Franklin County.

Don't feel all alone if you are very confused..LOL!, they are an extremely variable looking kingsnake that can be very problematic to begin with. It does indeed look like a "Blotched king", "Apalachicola Lowland king", "goini", "meansi", "Chipola River kingsnake", all of which are basically the very same thing. Many people in the hobby refer to them simply as goini or Blotched king anyway. They can also have huge variations of random blotches,broken striping, i.e. a mosaic-type look etc...Many hatchlings from the very same clutch can contain offspring that are all different from each other too, this is quite common. Also, combinations of floridana, getula, and goini can also look very much like that too when crossed of different percentages.

It looks real nice, so post a bigger pic when possible, enjoy it, and welcome to the forum!..

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

This is another form of them which has the red very enhanced, and many times is almost patternless. They do however tend to loose the brilliant red as they grow but many will keep some of the red or orange maybe even peach color as they mature. Yours looks very healthy and pretty too. They eat voraciously and have large appetites so feed him/her well.

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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

Doug, you did a FR, you said the exact same thing twice, in one post. Hmmmmm I am not alone, I am not alone, I am not alone. hahahahahahahahaha

Yeah, but in 2 paragraphs. LOL!
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Gerard
www.livebaitclip.com
"I fight knowledge with ignorance"HAHAhaha..............

n/p

As long as it got the confusing point across twice, I guess that is okay. Like I mentioned, they can be very "confusing",........even when trying to explain why..LOL!

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

huh? i dont understand what you said just now on here?!!!!!

"huh? i dont understand what you said just now on here?!!!!!"

I can certainly believe that..

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

ANOLES ARE EVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLL
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

OH YEAH!!!!!!!!! You hate them to?!! Me to!!! There so creepy the way they look around at you and use the nasty ugly flap under there neck to flare it out at you!!!!!!!! Just before they jump at you like those big ugly mean cuban and culumbia ones do! and a nother thing i hate and am trefied of is those nastyass big ugly mean tokyo geckos and such. the way they know how to climb up sideways walls to! but what i relly love is BULL SNAKES!!!!!!!

Yeah, those "Tokyo" geckos are just plain nasty, EEEVIL KILLERS!!!!!!!!

HAHAHAA!!!

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

Hey! those really are, they bite like a mother!
>>
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

They do have some very strong jaws from people I know that have been bitten. Some buddies of mine have a wild one that lives on the walls of their herp room. I saw him just a couple weeks ago as a matter of fact.

BTW, here is another "Tokyo" gecko that some kids found just outside of the city. I guess I probably should have posted this on the field herp forum though..LOL!

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

You know what they say about them Tokyo geckos????? Its true, I once went into this place with gesha tokyo geckos and saw for myself.

happy ending???
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Yeah, the ol' geisha gecko massage!. Gotta be REAL careful about where it could bite ya though..LOL!

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

>>Yeah, the ol' geisha gecko massage!. Gotta be REAL careful about where it could bite ya though..LOL!
>>
>>
>> ~Doug
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>>"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"
>>
>>

Is the geisha gecko related to the geico gecko?
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

......they're a Japanese franchise..LOL!

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

Actually if the one bites you on a certain spot, your going to need the other!!!!!!!

.
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

I was given a pair from a guy that got bored with them years ago, and he warned me not to get bitten. He said they had one of the most powerful bites he'd ever seen. Well, you know George is Curious, so I got a welders glove and let one bite down. OOOOOOH crap!!!! Big mistake, that thing was like a vice and even thru the glove it left a bruise as I tried to pull my have out from the glove and the thing pinched my finger. Man those things are EEEEEVIIIILLLLL. I used to call them Geckos from Hell! I still call them that, lol!
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

LMAO!!!, WOW!, so they really ARE like little crocodiles, hey?

that's crazy!, but I have heard that numerous times, so I definitely believe it.

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

>>BTW, here is another "Tokyo" gecko that some kids found just outside of the city. I guess I probably should have posted this on the field herp forum though..LOL!

Yeah, but you shouldn't have been so specific about hte location. You KNOW some collector will go and try to found up a bunch of them, destroying habitat in the process. Buildings overturned, tin left in the sun...

Also, I heard that minutes before the photo was taken there were FOUR kids looking at it. It does look like it just had a meal.

Scariest thing is when those big ones run up the sides of walls, y'know what i mean?

...some time Terry...and don't forget the recent radiation exposure......you know that's very close to Monster Island. Hey, just figured out how Jeff S. got those huge milksnakes.....
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

LOL!!,......yes, it does look rather chubby and full, doesn't it?

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

...aaaand there steel yur meece and such......

:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

holy mother of god.

I used to have some Tokays when I was a kid--WC adult imports. They only lived about 1 month. My husbandry and skill weren't sufficient at that point to overcome what I suspect was a parasite load and deyhydration when I got 'em. But even sick, they still bit like helL!
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
1.3 African House Snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
1 corn snake
4.3 Florida Kings
2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
1 Argentine boa
1 Texas Rat Snake
1 checkered garter snake

LOL!,..yep!, looks just like the one I was talking about at my buddy's place after he tossed him a tasty mouse snack!

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

..and they eet tastee gophur snakes 2...and such

:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Oh!....I NOOOOOO!!!!!!!

and CHIKINS and such 2 like theese ones in my back yerd!!!!!!

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

....turduckins
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Thanks so much for the help!
I must admit, I've studied snakes recently, but our focus was definitely not on their genetics and how much variability can occur in them!

I'll post again once he sheds (he's opaque right now)-- I can't wait to see how he looks after a shed.

You're very welcome. Yeah, some pics after it sheds would be great!

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

hey, doug, i thought yoiu were gonna say after it sheds, ID'g it can be confusing!

It's possible after it sheds it COULD be even more confusing, we'll have to see..LOL!

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

Oh jeez.... God I hope it doesn't!!!!

He was just messin' with me some..LOL!..

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

I figured, but with my luck he WOULD be harder to ID after shed!! Lol, that's really just the kind of luck I have.

LOL!...yeah, but it's a fairly safe bet anyway...

Here is a very similar looking specimen from Liberty County found in the Apalachicola National Forest in June of 2009.

Mark, it looks like one of your nice photographs.

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

LOL
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Gerard
www.livebaitclip.com
"I fight knowledge with ignorance"HAHAhaha..............