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My Cal King is not black and white like a desert, nor brown and yellow like a coastal. She's not light brown and cream like a Hypo, either. She is, in fact, dark brown and white. What do I call her when I upload pics to IV's morph guide?

>>My Cal King is not black and white like a desert, nor brown and yellow like a coastal. She's not light brown and cream like a Hypo, either. She is, in fact, dark brown and white. What do I call her when I upload pics to IV's morph guide?

Banded Desert Phase

No california king is truly black.
When they are hatchlings they look black but with age they typically turn brown.

Unless lineage is known the light bands differentiate coastals from deserts.
Coastals are typically more yellow.
Deserts are white, but have some yellow near the ventrals on the sides and on the ventrals themselves.
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

So black ones with yellow bands count as Coastals, while brown ones with white bands count as Deserts? I ask because I'm currently browsing this page:

http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/l.g.californiae.html

And... I'm seeing all four color combos to such a degree that it's starting to weird me out. Here's a light brown one with white bands that I have a difficult time calling a Desert:

http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/images/lgcaliforniaeyu5062.jpg

And here's a black one with yellow bands that I'd also do a double take on upon seeing it listed as a Coastal:

http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/images/lgetulayolorp411.jpg

If the white vs yellow rule is what matters, though, and the black/dark brown vs lighter brown part is not important, then okay. I just don't wanna upload that brown one to the Desert section and look like an idiot.

Like I said.....unless you can trace it back to some wild caught animals you can't be sure, but it phenotypically a desert phase animal......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Hello, its a desert king. And the characters you are using can vary. There are other characters as well, the wide white indicates desert king, band count and nuchel markings also indicate desert king.

Colors like black and white and brown and yellow, are general guidelines, but not absolute. And they are regional. It changes as you go north and east from SoCal.

Its a beautiful snake, congrats.