Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have posted these photos in one other community and most of them said this was probably a florida king snake. What do you all think?

My 4 year old brother found it in our backyard and picked it up with a stick and put it in a plastic pitcher!!! We freaked. My aunt is a HUGE animal lover so she WILL NOT dispose of it until she finds out if its poisonous. I think this is a bad idea only because even though I am extremely fascinated, Im a little afraid of snakes.

I looked at it and was worried it might be something venomous but its curled up and we cannot see the end of the tail (to make sure its not a rattlesnake). Its about 10-12 inches long and its hardly moving. Right now its outside on the porch in a plastic container sealed tight with a screen lid...just in case.

And if it IS a florida king, would it be alright if my aunt kept it as a pet?

I am not from Florida, but I have looked for snakes there a few times. I do not have my field guide handy, but I have some knowledge of snakes. I would be 100% certain it is not venomous so you can relax. It looks like a kingsnake to me. I am judging by the markings that I see on its nose and on its body. I'm not sure what the specific species is, but I'd say it is definately a member of the Lampropeltis genus (Kingsnakes/Milksnakes). Being that it is a kingsnake they make great pets. They will feed on mice and lizards both of which are easy to obtain in FL. If your snake eats mice keep feeding it mice. Mice are easier to come by all year than are lizards.

I would recommend instead of keeping the snake...let it go in the yard. Kingsnakes eat other snakes even venomous ones. Hopefully the king will take refuge nearby the house and keep a nice area of your yard snake free. Plus it will help keep the mice population down around your house.
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14 Leopard Geckos 5.9.0
2 Tokay Geckos 2.0.0
1 Graybanded Kingsnake 1.0.0 (on vacation in my house)
1 Baird's Rat Snake (Thanks Vadoni!) 1.0.0
1 Trans Pecos Rat Snake 0.0.1 (currently has eye infection)
1.0 Ambystoma sp. "Axolotl"

That it is a KINGSNAKE there is no doubt. I did not catch what part of Florida you are from but the snake IS Lampropeltis getula. As to the subspecies, I am not sure from the photo, but it is most likely a floridana. It is Totaly harmless and the care is the same as the previous post mentioned. They do make an excellent pet. As a matter of fact I am from S. Florida and I'm breeding those this year.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

>>I have posted these photos in one other community and most of them said this was probably a florida king snake. What do you all think?
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>>My 4 year old brother found it in our backyard and picked it up with a stick and put it in a plastic pitcher!!! We freaked. My aunt is a HUGE animal lover so she WILL NOT dispose of it until she finds out if its poisonous. I think this is a bad idea only because even though I am extremely fascinated, Im a little afraid of snakes.
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>>I looked at it and was worried it might be something venomous but its curled up and we cannot see the end of the tail (to make sure its not a rattlesnake). Its about 10-12 inches long and its hardly moving. Right now its outside on the porch in a plastic container sealed tight with a screen lid...just in case.
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>>And if it IS a florida king, would it be alright if my aunt kept it as a pet?
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Chris Harrison

NP
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"I'm tired of being a wannabe bowler! I wanna be a bowler!!"
-- Homer Simpson

If you look at the head, there is way too much yellow to be a splendida. Also the belly is yellow with dark checks. Spendida normaly have solid color bellies and the head is mainly black and has clearly distinct separation between it and the bodies pattern(except intergrades...see below).

Splendida from the intergrade zone with holbrooki ( the speckled) do have some of these features-but there is usually intrusion of yellow in the black "saddles". They also have black checked veneers. At first glance I leaned towards that intergrade. But the pattern is more in keeping with an intergrade between a Florida x Eastern Chain king.

Also this (to my knowlege) was caught in Florida, which would (if correct)suggest L.g.f.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."