Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a friend that is selling an all black Lampropeltis (more of a really dark brown with a couple small white spots mid-belly) and he doesn't seem to be able to ID it to black milk or mex black king. Anyone know of a good way to ID besides color? Scalation on head maybe?

Sounds like a milk so far. How big? How old?
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The snake is about 3 1/2 feet long and 5 years old. I would think that the milk would be larger, but who knows how often the snake was being fed. It is fairly heavy bodied for its size though.

If it's 5 years old and only 3 1/2 feet long, it must be a mexican black king. My black milk yearlings are already nearly that size.

Nate

What color is the skin beneath the scales? Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Mex Black Kings generally have the appearance of a neck. That is, the head is slightly wider than the area behind the head.

Black Milks don't usually have this. They have a wide body that just tapers to their head.

It sounds like a black king because...

1. size - a five year old snake would be adult size, or approaching it. Therefore I would expect a milksnake to be over 4.5 feet by them, depending on sex.

2. color - the brown coloration you suggest is more typical of nigrita than Black Milks. Also, a 3.5 foot Black Milk would still show faint evidence of the tricolor pattern, whereas a 3.5 foot nigrita would be solid black (brown).
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Chris Harrison

...he was beginning to realize he was the creature of a god that appreciated the discomfort of his worshippers - W. Somerset Maugham