Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...or other? The question came up at out last local reptile club meeting. People were looking at pictures I'd printed up, some of hypo brooksi and honduran milks. A couple kids asked which was bigger and nicer, I told them I didn't know. Maybe I can tell them at the next meeting. I'm curious too, I like medium large snakes, mostly smaller boa constrictors but kingsnakes as well.

Also just thought I'd mention for those who might remember, A few months ago I asked people here to rank their kings in different catagories. Thayeri scored highly and I found some good pictures for the club. I will recommend them as a good smaller pet snake.

Hum...

I don't have any milks or kings, but I have done a lot of research on at least the milks. Black milksnakes aren't colorful, but from what I've read and heard, they are the largest and most calm milksnake. By the way, there is also a Black kingsnake... this isn't the same species, they are much smaller.

As I said, I've never dealt with kingsnakes (except for a cal king I kept a while for a friend), but I have held a Brooksi and it was very calm and docile. They were on my wishlist for a long time before I decided to stick mainly with ratsnakes.

Thayeri... I wouldn't recommend them. From what I've heard they aren't the best beginner kingsnake, because they can be squirmy and a pain to get eating on pinks. But then again, they are my favorite kingsnakes and if I ever decide to get a king, it will be a thayeri.

As far as small milksnakes, pueblan milksnakes seem to be fairly good small milksnakes, although they can be pretty squirmy. Sinaloan milks are usually recommended for beginner milksnake owners, just because they tend to be calmer, but they are a bit larger than pueblans and not as pretty IMO.

Hello,
Like Amanda said, the black milk meets all of your criteria except for "colorful". Actually, if you get them under natural sunlight or a full spectrum light, they do have a very impressive iridescent rainbow appearance. There are a couple other species of milksnake that have similar temperaments and care requirements, and keep their tricolor pattern into adulthood. Andean milksnakes are very nice... the "Inca" morph, if you can find it, has more red and less black tipping than regular Andeans. Like black milks, Andeans are from high altitude areas and thrive at room temperature. Stuart's (Costa Rican) milksnakes are also very nice, basically identical to black milks as hatchlings, probably because they are native to the lower altitudes of the same country.

Nate

I printed them up for the club, good info on the milks that I'm unfamiliar with. I found some pics of black milks, I wish they did more for me visually. If I was going to buy something right now (I'm not) it'd probably be a hypo brooksi or Andean milk. If not for the club, I'd probably still be thinking hondo, but I want my critters to be good with the kids.

Here's a pic of mine "Big John" 6 foot 4 and over 5 lbs! (That's my hand - I'm 6' and 182lbs & a dollar bill for comparison)
For beauty . . .hmmm depends on the individual. Most would probaby go for the reds/oranges in the milksnake world, until you can REALLY appreciate the beauty of an eastern or goini! Just my opinion, LOL!

Zee

a gopher snake I found in the middle of a ground squirrel colony a while back.

Don't Brooksi's get as big as Easterns?

He's nice and thick, but seems more robust and energetic than Big John. Don't know how old he is since he's wild caught from the lake okeechobee area,(My best guess 6-7 years). Here's a pic from earlier this year (my 11 year old son holding him). I'm sure he'll cross the six foot mark, but he'll be a little more heavy bodied than the eastern. They tend to be thicker on average than their eastern 'cousins' (in the wild also). Keith (Hillson) has a pic of a 76" brooksi, that has passed away , but weighed over 7lbs in his prime!

Zee

I like the bright eyed little shadow dog in the background. :^)

I'm now in danger of getting a Brooksi...

She'd much rather have ME die first before that little (3lb)poodle. . . Go figure!!!
I guess me joking (to the wife) about feeding THAT RAT to Big John doesn't help either, Hahahahahaha!!!

Zee

the part about feeding that "rat" to Big John. Funny in a bad sort of way. :^)

I think size would have to go to a Honduran milk. Easterns have got to be the largest king in the US, but check out Shannon Brown's post of the Hondurans over 8 ft in length. There is one pic to check out of a large (8'+) wildcaught Hondo.

I think color would definitely have to got to a Thayeri, but out of a Hypo Brooksi or a Honduran, I prefer the colors of a hypo Brooksi especially when juveniles.

As for beginner snakes with unexperienced hobbyist the best snake in the world would be a good 'ol Caliking.
All IMHO.
-John Lassiter-

Thanks John, for the enlightenment! I am glad to hear that Hondo's are bigger than first thought! I had it imprinted and was told by many books in the past that there were no hondo's over 7 feet. My, how the times have changed, LOL! I might have to get me a pair next year! I saw the pic - 8 feet, WOW that's HUGE! I think that's worth posting here (just once of course)
Thanks again John, for schooling me!

Zee

I had a WC Cal king that would musk sometimes, but he's totally trustworthy about not biting so he got passed around at reptile club a lot. The kids seem to understand good when I explain that if he gets scared, he'll pee and try to get away like a frog. I gave "Houdini" to a little girl who really took a liking to him, only trouble is he promptly lived up to his name and escaped his new home! Her folks work with various wild animals, and out mutual friend does reptile rescue and rattlesnake removal for a business, so I figure they have a good chance of finding him.

Yes, the snake pic I posted is a caliking.
Some would call it an aztec cal king,
Some would call it a mottled cal king,
but it is truly just aberrant. It is the offspring of a perfectly banded albino male and a normal chocolate and white banded female. After breeding these for 2 years I finally got this one. I call it halfstripe.
-John lassiter-

Here is a widestripe:

I'm not that familiar with designer Cal kings, I just recognise their faces.