Reptile & Amphibian Forums

from several posts down, titled "Quite a surprise..."

It seems healthy, and today I turned it over and it has the most beautiful smoky-silver belly coloration. Otherwise it's still jet black, with no inclination of any kind of show of aggression. no stripes (even subtle), blunt front end with no inclination to bite or hiss. The head is slightly defined by a slight narrowing of the neck. 3 feet long, medium circumference.

I live in central coastal CA, but i think this is an import.

Any ideas? I looked all over the net, but the pics and definitions include only the upper coloration.

Roger

It would really, really help if you could post photos.

Yes. I know I'll look into it.

Roger

I think you are right about this being a snake non-native to California, I started herping here around 1967, never saw anything that fits the description you give.

A Black Snake with a silvery gray belly, I'll take a wild guess and say a Mexican Black King, an escapee probably, or some one let it loose. Heres a link to a photo of one.
Mexican Black King

I put fliers on the doormats of my closest neighbors, and the owner called to claim it. It is a Mexican (owner daid Central American) kingsnake, on the loose for a month, probably looking for food in my lizard vivs. He said the US can't get any more of them, as they are protected now. I wanted him to participate in some kind of breeding program, but he's not interested. It was a very beautiful snake.

Roger

"He said the US can't get any more of them, as they are protected now. I wanted him to participate in some kind of breeding program, but he's not interested. It was a very beautiful snake."

If it is a Mexican Black King he has a greatly inflated view of its significance. Mexican Black Kings are bred by the hundreds (thousands?) every year in this country and are very widely available. I have seen them sell for as little as $15 each for babies. Furthermore, Mexican Black Kings do occur in the US down on the AZ/Mex border.

It could be a Black Milksnake, which are from Central America, but Black Milks are larger and tend to have more of a pattern when they are under 4 feet. It is true that they aren't being exported anymore, but there are hundreds of these in the US and they are easy to get from breeders. And again, the numbers are increasing at such a rate in captivity that babies which used to sell for $400 are now approaching $100.

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Chris Harrison