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Following are photos of my mexican black kingsnake. Recently I noticed that she is not exactly completely black, like the last one I had. Instead, she seems to have a very faint pattern of some sort, though it is very faint (at first glance she looks almost solid black under most lighting). I'm wondering just what this may be / why she had this almost hidden pattern...

Here are some photos I took. These photos were taken with a special infrared camera, then processed quite a bit afterwards to help get the faint pattern to show up in the photos.

Please let me know if you have any insight on this.

I know it's hard to see in these photos, but if you can tell at all I appreciate any ideas you might have.

Thanks very much,
- Mark
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I'm beginning to think that what I have is not a kingsnake at all. I've been comparing the scale patterns on the heads of kingsnakes vs. cornsnakes - and they are quite the same. I've also noticed that the faint pattern I see in my snake is the same as the standard cornsnake pattern. And on top of that, the head and jawline of my snake are like that of a cornsnake - not a kingsnake!

Here's my snake's head (notice how long the head is and how clearly set off from the body it is - like a cornsnake's head...):

Here's yet another shot:

Here's a picture I have of my old Mexican Black Kingsnake (notice how the body tapers smoothly to the head - little to no jawline...):

I think I got ripped off from the guy who sold it to me. It was the first (and now the ONLY) time I've ever bought a live animal online.

If I'm wrong about this - someone please let me know...

Thanks,
- Mark
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My personal site: www.antegy.com
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My Kingsnake.com Picture Gallery
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My photography on photo.net
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Me on myspace.com

That looks like a kingsnake to me.

Mexican Black Kings intergrade in the wild with both desert kings and california kings. Your snake apparently has some slight california king pattern underneath the melanism. It will become even less evident with age.

It could be that the snake has some "conjuncta" blood. These blackish kingsnakes from the Baja peninsula used to be more popular. They are a natural intergrade population between mexican blacks and banded cal kings. This snake could just be a very dark example of this.

Otherwise, the snake looks just like nigrita to me.
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Chris Harrison

Still looks like an MBK to me. You'd be surprised how much variability there is in head shape. As far as the pattern... MBKs actually do usually have a faint pattern in the wild. In captivity, they have been bred selectivly for the darkest color and the least pattern. I agree the head does look ratsnakeish but I still believe it to be a kingsnake.
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Martin Whalin
My Email

Quotes from guys named Carl:

"Science stops at the frontier of logic. Nature does not, she thrives on ground as yet untrodden by theory."
-Carl Jung

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld

The well defined jaw line looks just like the jawline on my cal king that is older than the others... Doesn't look anything like a cornsnake to me. BUT it is a BEAUTIFUL snake!
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~Sasheena

Actually, it looks identical to a Black rat snake I saw someone get recently. Looks like a MBK but has a much larger head and a faint pattern.

www.wildliferehabinc.org/snakes.html

Scroll down to "Stubby" the Black Rat Snake. ^_^
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0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake (Elysia)

I appreciate all of your replies in helping me figure out what I have here. And I do agree now that it is definitely not a cornsnake. Judging from your replies, and from some reading I've just done, it looks like what I have is simply a very dark california kingsnake. While she is a nice snake, its just not what I'm looking for.

The Mexican Black King's are slightly different, and that makes a whole world of difference to me. Not to mention, the difference in personality between the two is like night and day!

So, now my goal is first to find a good home for the king I have now - and then I have to try and find a real MBK.

Thanks again for your help,
- Mark
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My personal site: www.antegy.com
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My Kingsnake.com Picture Gallery
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My photography on photo.net
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Me on myspace.com

You don't have a "really dark California King". You have a Mexican Black King. As the others have pointed out, many Mexican Black Kings have a faint pattern. Since their natural range overlaps that of the California King and the Desert King, the faint pattern MBK's have is often similar to that of a Cal or Desert King.
As Chris pointed out, breeders have selectivly bred Mexican Black Kings for many generations to show no trace of a pattern. Your's is just as much an MBK as the patternless snakes.
Here is a photo of a snake that I caught a few weeks ago in the zone where these three snake's ranges overlap. It has the overall appearance and melanism of a Mexican Black King, the faint pattern of a Desert King on the back, and the pattern of a Cal King on it's belly and chin.

Greg

If you cant figure out by looking at the snake always check the anal plate scales. Ratsnakes(including Corn Snakes) have a divided anal scale while Kings(Lampros)have an single anal scale.Head shapes due differ even among some kings somewhat but just looking at it the pictures it looks like a king.
Randy