Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey, this is my first post in this forum, i have 2 lizards and i am intrested in getting a snake. this would be my first snake and i am intrested in getting either a kingsnake or a milksnake. i have researched a couple of kingsnakes and was wondering if anyone could recommend a kingsnake that is good for a beginner, does not get to big (smaller then 3 ft) and does not mind being handled. thanks for any help.

sam~

1)California Kingsnakes are small and eat well but they poop all over ya when handled. See link:
http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=59&de=258536

2)Eastern Kings and Brooksi get to big (over 3')

3)Of the Mountain kingsnake group most are stubborn feeders except for the Chihuahua Mtn king (Lampropeltis pyromelana knoblochi)which eats unscented pinks right from the start. These are very nice to handle, are very colorful and they stay around 3'. Link:
http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=59&de=266006

Seriously they all make great first snakes. I prefer the brooks kings because they are my passion. There will be others here who prefer the Cal kings or Eastern kings. Thye all make great first snakes that are tough and easy to maintain.

eamil me with any questions!

i do not have an email adress at this time but i do have a couple questions.....

1. chihuahua mtn kings are so beautiful! how much do they cost? and i cant find any caresheets in them. could you send me some links?

2. brooks kings are also a very nice looking snake but they are a little to big for me.

3. have you heard of a mexican black kingsnake? i read that they are great snakes, they love to be handled and stay about the size i am looking for. what do you think?

4. also what about milksnakes? what are your thoughts on them?

thank you for all of your help. i cant wait to finally get into snakes!

thanks again, sam~

1. chihuahua mtn kings are so beautiful! how much do they cost? and i cant find any caresheets in them. could you send me some links?
I have some for sale now at $50. each. You can find them for a little more from someone else in the classified section here at Kingsnake.com. I have noticed them advertised for $85 and up for '04 neonates. Their care is very similar to all kingsankes and milksnakes. I keep mine on pine shavings with a water dish and under tank heating (do not use a hot rock or overhead light for heat!) you can use aspen or paper towels for small neonates. They are very resileint since they can stand cold weather... So they will not regurge food items if the temps drop as easy as other kings and most all milksnakes.
Keep the neonate in a shoebox until 2 years of age then move to a larger encloser. Feed frozen thawed mice or live. Try not to feed them any lizards as this could transfer parasites and they could also imprint on this food item then refusing mice in the future.

2. brooks kings are also a very nice looking snake but they are a little to big for me.
Yes but they are very pretty and calm snakes. Try a hypomelanistic brooksi if you do get one. They will run about $75-$100 each.

3. have you heard of a mexican black kingsnake? i read that they are great snakes, they love to be handled and stay about the size i am looking for. what do you think?
There are a lot of people that like the mexican blacks. They are inexpensive and look like a minature Indigo snake. If you get one.. get a neonate that is already selective bred to have NO pattern present as babies.

4. also what about milksnakes? what are your thoughts on them?
Some are very hyper andf squirrly as neonates, They bite as well. The Sinaloan Milksnake does not do this . They are calm , beautiful and are the best first snake IMHO.

(Lampropeltis pyromelana knoblochi)
This snake is found in the region of Chihuahua Mexico. It is one of the three Sonoran Mountain kingsnake subspecies.They come form a 4000-8000 ft level in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental. The babies hatch out slightly smaller than other L.pyromelana.

'04 baby albino high white calif king. This snake has evoloved over the last 20 years from captive breeding into a california king that has all the black bred out and then herpetoculturists introduced the albino gene and took it one step further. Not costly at all. Truly a man made snake.

Speaking of man made snakes This is a Sinaloan mIlksnake crossed with a cal king. they are called SinCals. This one is in particular is also het for albinism which means it carries the albino gene. I have it for sale at this time.

This is a nice Extreme hypo Honduran milksnake. These are very costly and popular with the milksnake people.

are those all your snakes? they are all beautiful!! i am deciding between a chihuahua mtn kingsnake and a mexican black kingsnake, they both get about the size that i want and seem to be docile snakes. Like i said thsi would be my first snake, i have heard about using a under the tank heater but have never heard not to use a heat lamp. why is it that you cant use one? i use one on my lizards so i was just wondering. thansk for your replies.

sam~

Ya, stay away from the heat lamp for colubrids.

Also the black kings get a lot bigger and heavier than the Chihuahua Mtn king. I think they attain a length of about 5' . Might as well get a brooksi if you are going that big.

arent the mexican black king and the black king to different snakes? i read that the mexican black king gets about 3-4 ft. am i wrong? out of the 2 which do you think is a better beginner?
sam~

oh also i have a temporary email address, fell free to email me at XxLax43xX@yahoo.com
sam~

The mex milks (gaigae) is pretty cool to. It is perfect for apts since they seem to thrive with lower temps. They start out tricolor and then turn black.

I will email your temp email address with further info.