Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just got this guy for a great price at a show this wknd ($30). But I'm wondering if the faint white patterns on his sides will dissapear with age? I sure hope so. His chin has white on it as well. I have seen babies with no white on them (for twice as much). You think that was why mine was cheaper? Any comments welcome...

Very nice. Your Nigrita should lose some or maybe even most of the markings as he grows. Usually, flawless jetblack babies are going to sell for a higher price. Either way they are awesome snakes.

Steve

And they sure look great in the sunlight don't they?

That little white ain't nothing. It will turn jet black soon enough. IMO the jacked up price with one with no black, is a waste of $

I certainly can't garantee it but I think theres a VERY good chance it will darken. It already looks faded in comparison to some that have much whiter chin scales that stay that way for life but otherwise are perfectly black. (noboby notices the white chin markings for the most part on a good black animal and the small differences help you distinguish one from another).Nice looking snake!

Bob.

Since I was at the Austin show this weekend and that's the price I ask for them. The mother has a few white scales on her chin which most MBKs have and the father has the little white near the belley. I have seen what the offspring grow up to look like and they stay super glossy and the white does not disappear much, but it definitely does not increase. I don't price them on how much white they have. I just think it is a great snake that shouldn't cost much period. They're easy to double clutch and they pay for themselves in no time. Hope you enjoy him. Tom Stevens

Yeah I like it alot! He already ate and is very calm. How old did you say the first clutch was? I got one of the larger ones. Do you have any pics of the parents?

I will check my notes for you asap. I am glad you like it. I have sold a bunch of those in 3 years everyone loves them, they're great snakes. I can snap pics of the adults soon too. The female is going to shed soon, I keep her in a 3 foot Boaphile cage. She is a great animal and I love seeing her have so much room. She's quite large too so I feel she needs it. I will get back to you asap. Thanks Tom Stevens

Although it's nice to have 100 % jet black, what's more important to me is not so much a little white/cream speckling on the bellie or under the chin, but on how black the animal is. I've seen some that have some shades of brown or not a very deep glossy black. I agree, Mexican Blacks are one of the best snakes out there. An amazing animal for the price.

Steve

I see many that lack the shine that everyone loves about black snakes. Years ago I paid 50 bucks for my female, I now have her in a cage that cost me about 250 bucks LOL. I have about every snake I ever wanted now, my collection numbers about 55. Rubbermaids work fine and when kept clean can still do a pretty snake justice as far as the aspect of displaying it. But I am working on getting many more glass fronted cages now because I just can't get over how great many of the snakes I raised up are looking these days, and that is a good feeling. Tom Stevens

I absolutely agree with Tom and Steve! After years of getting chewed on by different subspecies of kings and Milks (still like them though) black kings, especially the deep solid black ones with high gloss generally have wonderful mellow attitudes along with good feeding responses.As the other guys said MANY have some brown on their sides and the black is not as intense as others. An awesome and often overlooked animal. I love them. Good luck with it.

Bob.

Yours will lose most of the pattern along his/her sides. Here's an old pic of one of my females.
:Mark

Nice looking animal. Very glossy. Thanks for sharing the picture.

That's a great looking snake. Now I like black snakes too (I purchased a hatchling eastern indigo about a month ago) and like said snakes to be jet black...I like the pattern of white on yours, at least from the picture.

I always tell people what a great snake this is for someone learning about cycling and breeding snakes. This year was almost funny, as this pair of mine were proven but this year it was as if I pressed a "time to breed" button. I was placing the female in the males cage for the first time this year. I was lowering her in slowly as not to startle either of them. The second her head hit the substrate the male bit her on the neck, quite hard too. I let the rest of her body fall into the cage and she did not react in any way other than raising her tail! They were locked up in under 1 minute! Now that is cool, how much easier could it be? MBKs are just awesome. Tom Stevens

Thats a heck of alot better then the time when one of my female CA kings grabbed a male by the head. Her tail went up as she tried to put a death grip on him. Before I knew it I saw the male's eyes start to vanish into her mouth.

Wasn't the right time to put those two together. Two days later I introduced her to a different male and all went well.

Rich Hebron