Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So what would you guys say is an appropriate sized cage for, lets say, a yearling king? In addition, what are the best/hardiest species of kings for beginners? I've been reading tons on the board lately about cal kings being a lot of trouble, agressive, not eating, etc. A cal king was my first choice, up until recently. How do gray bandeds do as captives? Any other easier species?

I have always heard that Cali King or corn snakes were the best starter snakes. Corns would be the better one to introduce to children because they are much less aggresive. You could get a garter snake but whats the point in that, they arent very attractive. I have a kingsnake and hes never givin me any problems. He is very aggresive towards some people though. He must not like my cousins scent because everytime he goes near him he goes into rattlesnake mode and starts shaking his tale. lol.. but about the tank it depends on how much money you have and how much you are going to try to influence your snakes growth. Im not sure how big your yearling is but a 20 or 30 gall tank should be fine if it not very big. I have seen an 8 year old kingsnake that lived its whole life in a 20 gall tank ( and it didnt look very cramped,it just never got very big). If your trying to make it get big and grow fast, I suggest power feeding and buying a large atleast 60 gallon tank to influence growth. Hope this helps.. I dont remeber if you had any more questions ... sorry

no no no. I have dealt with corns, garters, etc. I've succesfully kept many species of reptiles for almost a decade. You answered my tank size question but not my second question. I've had experience with other species of snake, I am looking into buying a kingsnake (Have never and do not now own one). I might have accidently used the word "species", I meant morph. I wrote the post super fast, sorry. So other than cal kings, what other kingsnakes do you guys recommend? I've heard cal's can be a lot of trouble.

Our cali king is NO trouble at all. He has a great personality, eats f/t pinks with no problem, and is fun to watch and hold. Never been aggressive, and he's always cruising around his cage.

I really think it depends on the snake. We bought ours at a local pet store, which is nice because you can hold the snake and get a feel for it's general personality. We chose ours from three identical looking cali kings. If you order online, you're taking your chances.

Good luck!

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Lisa

0.0.1 50/50 California Kingsnake
0.0.1 Arizona Mountain Kingsnake
0.0.2 W/C Kingsnake Eggs (due to hatch around 10/8/04)

Get an Eastern Chain king. They are so awsome and very calm(well mine is anyway) Everytime i go to take him out of the tank he never tries to run or anything. I think he likes being held cause when i go to put him back he doesnt let go. Awsome snakes.

I don't know where you got the impression that cal kings are troublesome. I have an assortment of different kings, 4 of which are cals. They have been the easiest of the bunch. They're hardy, easily tamed with regular handling, and have an aggressive feeding response. Mine have never passed up a meal and in 8 years I haven't been bitten by a cal yet. Of course I don't handle them much after feeding either. If I had to give you a second choice I would have to say L. mex thayeri or L. getula nigritis. Then again I have no experience with eastern kings.
I love my grey bandeds, but they can be a lot more trouble especially when you're trying to get young ones to eat and yes a 20 gal long is fine for all but the largest cal kings.