Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Kingsnakes in general will always be popular, but certain varieties have jumped in popularity over the years. Graybands and Brooksis (among others) have seen such gains in recent years, but I'm wondering which variety will be next to enter the spotlight. My guess would be Outer Banks Kings. Anyone else have thoughts on which one will be next?

BTW, are there any indications yet as to what affect hurricane Isabel might have had on the OBK population?

Keith H., I'm especially interested in your thoughts on both of these questions.
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MichaelB

IMO OBX kings have had their time in the sun too recently to become trendy again anytime soon though I think classic types will always be popular with locality breeders.

I think one of the overlooked kings is splendita and there are several locality types out there that seem to me at least quite distinctive. One of my favorites is a striped one posted some time ago by Chris harrison. Perhaps he'll be kind enough to repost the pic.

Another rising star I think is the blotched king. I've always liked them and with more people now working with them we'll likely start to see some very nice selectively bred strains that gain increased popularity.

Another interesting animal though I've not gotten much feedback on it, nor seen in person, is Vivid's blue eyed blond Cal king. I'd really like to here what people who've had these think of them.

I think the newer morphs of calif kings will regain popularity

I've seen these too and they are quite nice however the one Chris posted simply had such a well developed pattern that the "effect" was a broad dorsal stripe. I've contacted him to see if he would repost it here.

Tony,
Heres a adult blue eyed blonde.These things are awesome.
I think they are the true hypo cal king.The have bright yellow and blue irisis with ruby pupils,
They are not compatible with any other morphs of cal kings.

I love them

shannon

Thanks for the input Shannon. From what I've gathered they are quite impressive animals. Thinking very hard on getting a pair next year.

In regard to these Shannon, have you trialed your idea by outcrossing them to other stock and if so is it a standard mendilian trait. Also do you plan on producing some this year and if so what's the going price?

That was supposed to be an email

Yeah,
I know that they have been bred to lavendars,strait amels and I am sure others.
I saw the offspring from the lav cross and the amel cross.All normals 100%.
I havn't seen any from other hypo crosses?

I should have some this year and I am not sure the going $ ?

shannon

very nice some people still think its another form of albino but its not. i seen some go for $125 . how big is the one in the picture it looks huge

john

heres a couple striped splendita,They should breed next year.

shannon

The next popular thing is tough to call. I think there are a number of factors when dealing with the popularity of anything. One would be the presence of mutations. That always seems to draw in more folks and then they become interested in the normal animal as well.

As far as OBK's go I dont think they will be super popular as people just dont seem to understand or appreciate the whole package on them. For one they are rare and two they are the ultimate locality animal and three they are beautiful. I think the drawback to them is its not instant satisfaction. You have to wait and see how they turn out and then you may get one that doesnt meet your expectations. I like them all though from the 100% speckled to the barely speckled.

If I had to say what will be the next one I would say the soon to be officially named Appalachicola Kingsnake. Im talking about ther patternless and the striped and the inbetweens and not the intergrade or Blotched King. We will see though but I know I already want some LOL.

In regards to you OBK hurricane question if you can pick up the book "Ribbon Of Sand" by Lazell & Alexander. The OBX have been pounded by Hurricanes many of times and those OB kings are still there. I think people expanding and not weather is a bigger threat to them.

Regards,

Keith
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Just thought I'd let you know there's only one "p" in that word.

Im full of typpo's and mis-sppellings today ! I usually keepp that extra p off but not today LOL

Keith
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The only reason I mentioned it is because that is also how it is spelled on your website and thought you might want to correct it.

CRAP ! Thanks for the heads up. I was just on their trying fix little things here and there as well putting those pics on LOL.

Keith
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They've always been popular in the Tallahassee area (to include parts of Alabama, Georgia, and all of Florida).

Not only the "true" Apalachicola King that will be named someday...get ready for some outrageous prices for these patternless beauties - but also for the blotched snakes as a whole.

I say blotched because when I lived in Tallahassee you can find all sorts of naturally occuring, very gorgeous blotched kings.
I've got 3 and they all look differently from one another.

Then you have the naturally occuring intergrade/backcross between the blotched and a pure Eastern; I had one I sold and I could kick myself for it - had a pattern that's wasn't blotched or Eastern looking, but it was.

I may have to go back to my handle, "goini" that I use to use, even though the name is invalid taxonomically.

In fact, it's a toss up between the blotched and Eastern as to what my favorite king is!

-John

say blotched because when I lived in Tallahassee you can find all sorts of naturally occuring, very gorgeous blotched kings.
I've got 3 and they all look differently from one another.

Then you have the naturally occuring intergrade/backcross between the blotched and a pure Eastern; I had one I sold and I could kick myself for it - had a pattern that's wasn't blotched or Eastern looking, but it was.

Hey John, I'm curious...how are you defining a blotched variant and your "naturally occurring intergrade/backcross between the blotched and a pure Eastern"?

Sean,

It's based on my conversations with Bruce Means and mostly Len Krysko as well as Kenny Krysko's diss. I could be totally off in my understanding of this, but here it is:

In southern Leon County, as you know, you can find all types of blotched kings. According to these folks, a "pure" Eastern from the northern portions of the blotched's range, that is from northern or central Leon (and probably SE Gadsen and SW Jefferson Co as well) will breed with a blotched king thus producing a backcross, or what alot of folks refer to as a g. goini X g.getula cross. I know "goini" is an invalid name but I'm just using it to make a point.

I've seen - right down the street from Pet Paradise (west on Tharpe Street) a clean Eastern cross the road in front of me: I slowed down and sure enough is was an Eastern through and through, but by the time I stopped in traffic it was long gone (they were building a strip mall and the woods were being destroyed which is why the Eastern was leaving I'm sure).

Anyway, that's what I've been told and read; in fact I had this same converstation with Krysko when he sold me one back in 2000.

It was a male that looks alot like the photo on page 52 of David Perlowin's book - in fact he calls it a g.getula X g.goini as well.

Why did you leave Tally man!! I wish I could get back - but I will in a year or two.

-John

John, I was asking you to define what you thought was a "blotched" king and your "intergrade". Like dark blotches, width of bands, lightening of the interbands, etc...please define "goini" for me as well.

I've seen - right down the street from Pet Paradise (west on Tharpe Street) a clean Eastern cross the road in front of me: I slowed down and sure enough is was an Eastern through and through, but by the time I stopped in traffic it was long gone (they were building a strip mall and the woods were being destroyed which is why the Eastern was leaving I'm sure).

Man, how many stories do you have of Kings getting away?

Why did you leave Tally man!!

I never left Tallahassee. I moved to a different location in the city but I'm still here.

John, I was asking you to define what you thought was a "blotched" king and your "intergrade". Like dark blotches, width of bands, lightening of the interbands, etc...please define "goini" for me as well.

I've seen - right down the street from Pet Paradise (west on Tharpe Street) a clean Eastern cross the road in front of me: I slowed down and sure enough is was an Eastern through and through, but by the time I stopped in traffic it was long gone (they were building a strip mall and the woods were being destroyed which is why the Eastern was leaving I'm sure).

Man, how many stories do you have of Kings getting away?

Why did you leave Tally man!!

I never left Tallahassee. I moved to a different location in the city but I'm still here.

Fun topic! I think I agree with the others - the Appalachicola kings will be selectively bred to produce outrageous specimens, for a relatively high price, and demand will go up.

IMO graybands, though still popular, are not what they used to be in the hobby. Same with thayeri. Cal kings hopefully will ramp up (they are just great snakes and vary so much). Splendida are also great but not popular for some reason (those hypo splendida are really cool snakes.) It will be fun to see what develops.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your tastes), I think that hybrid getula will be the next fad...strictly captive cultivars...Frankenstien creations will continue to grow in poplularity. I also think there will be a growing demand for "purist" who are able to provide accurite local of common specimens...some of the rarer locals will be where the market will be market goes..also I'd like to see some of the more overlooked species to gain poplularity...Calligaster complex...L t. triangelum...Peherps even the overlooked L g. Nigra will gain interest as habitat loss increases and these "over looked" species become more threatened in the wild

There are several different morphs within each line(if we take all ssp.as "lines"and many are very close anyway...The multi-morph projects will turn out some STUNNING kings that will finally rival milks in coloration.With the shear number of "pure" animals out there I think it hard for "pure"lines to regain popularity without new morphs--which are simply running out. I have a KILLER male CROSS from Mark Bell--Goini x Hypo brooksi. He is a f2 hypo that has all but eliminated the black,holding the orange better than any blaze I have seen.Further crosses into the albino chains,albino brooks etc will produce some REAL nice getula.To me, the great thing about these crosses is that(at least within the east,florida,goini part of the complex)even the "mutts"will look like naturally occuring specimens. But of course, know who you get them from to make sure they are honestly represented,Jeff