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Is this the usual coloration for a florida kingsnake? How old are they when they reach full-size? Are they commonly available? Are they generally godd tempered? Why are some pics I see of them black?

...an under appreciated Florida King there; hang on to it!

What you have - from the best I can tell - is what they call a Penisular intergrade, or what I refer to as a "Classic" Florida King (Lampropeltis getula floridana). That's a usual color for this snake, which may be the more common color phase in Florida for Florida Kings. They often have yellowish crossbands with light scales interspersed with mahogany "bands" and other scales that have this color on them; it's not uncommon for a young Florida King to have plenty of black when young, as well as with Speckled Kings as well. Some of these kings tend to darken by the age of 4 so that they aren't nearly as showy as the southern color phase of this supspecies or as varied in pattern as the Apalachicola Kings.

But, I would hazard to say that among king keepers that this color varient is the less kept and bred than all others of the kings that occur in s. Georgia and Florida. I caught a female from Polk Co. that is darkening like the one in your photo but had tons of black and bright yellow as a 3 month old.Don't let everyone on here with all the wild-looking color phases of kings make you think that yours isn't "pretty" or not as "good" because that's crap. Natural variation is always more beautiful than man-induced crap, at least to those who actually get in the field and see nature for what it is.

Most of the kings around here (throughout Florida actually) that I see for sale in sorry local, and chain pet shops will be a snake that would develop a pattern close to yours - the problem is, is that most of the bozos working in these stores ensure it will be dead before sold or die soon after because of neglect.I saw some idiot store in Tallahasee that was feeding this poor hatchling Florida King freakin' crickets...when I approached the guy in charge of the reptiles it was liking talking to a wall, they guy didn't have a clue but was a "supposed" specialist! I avoid these places like the plague because they just upset me.

Good luck with your king.

-John

This is probably the more common coloring that shadowleaner was talking about. But about your questions, my snake is really a great snake to handle. She's also a pig when it comes to eating ^_^. I heard that they grow to be on the larger end of the kings. Females getting to 5 feet. Mine is 4 years old, and my rough estimate is that she's around 3.5 feet.

Rambizzo,

My female looks very similar to the snake your holding...she too is a pig and a complete baby to handle, and as with yours, she's got some girth on her...more than two Easterns I got at the same time - they are a little longer but aren't nearly as large around even though they all basically have the same diet. As far as size, the largest king I've seen on this site yet is Mr. Nasty, a snake whose pic has been posted on here many times by Hillson - and it's a Florida King!

Actually she "knows" me better than any of my kings. I can handle a mouse, pick her up, and she actually tastes, turns her head, pushes down on my hand, and then keeps going without even biting; I've got some others that are gentle too but would rip your fingers off at the first scent of food. When push comes to shove she's my best king...just goes to show that what many people call mutts turn out to be the best damm pet you can own.

Not to get sappy or anything, but when I was leaving Mississippi to return to Florida I had to sell some snakes; luckily I knew some serious snake lovers up there who took care of their serpents. So this guy really wanted this Florida of mine I'm talking about...but as if she sensed what was going on after I had bagged 3 out of my collection, she started whipping her tail, body bridging, and then coiling up as tightly as possible in her hide box in order to get away from me - the snake had never done that with me before even when I let friends handle her. I didn't have to heart to sell her, and the guy was bummed even though he got a great deal on some others of mine.
It felt like bad karma or something!! Go figure!

Back to the orginal poster...you've got a great snake so don't get fooled by flashy looks!

-John

That's a great story. My guess is she saw you bagging the other snakes and knew that the same was in line for herself. The reason for having a larger girth than others is probably because of the amount of exercise she can get in her cage. I plan to buy a branch or two for her cage, but here it is now:

Thanks for the replies but the snake is not mine. She is Dana and she is one of the education animals(outreach programs, school shows, ect.) at the Philadelphia Zoo, where I work. I never have kept kingsnakes and I mostly keep Green Tree pythons, and hognose snakes. Dana is my favorite snake at work and I think she is absolutley gorgeous and was wondering if I could obtain a similar animal.