Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

Was checking out the Milk Snake forum earlier and read the thread about housing different Lamp. species together, including kings. Many responses of successfully doing it, as long as the snakes are of the similar size. One guy, Tad Fitzgerald, reported housing most milks and kings together for 10 years with only one incident involving a Cal King. As an L.g.g. owner this sounds just crazy to me....

Now, I have NO intention on housing kings together, but I have to comment on this here. My eastern is puppy dog tame, but whenever my corn, about the same size, starts crawling around in her cage which is next to my kings, she runs over and just stares at my corn with a hungry look, and sometimes gets frustrated (lol - I've since divided the cage with some paper but Queeny still peeks around the corner to watch my corn). If I put the corn on top of her cage, Queeny goes absolutely crazy trying to eat her through the screen top once she gets a whiff and sees some movement. Yeah, yeah, I know - crazy stuff, but I only have 3 snakes and they're all "pets" as of now - gotta keep it interesting!!

Here's the thing - I'm looking for a male to breed to Queeny, and I am excited. But, I'm almost certain she will do all she can to eat him! She's not so bad when she's stuffed with food (2 rats/week), but she's the typical getula and constantly hungry! I've bred corns and experienced with the prep of breeding kings, - but I've not found a lot of information on how to deal with my potential problem with Queeny. She has eaten one snake before, a few years ago, LONG story...lol

Keith, if I don't find a male maybe I could bring Queeny out to Madison next time I come out to see John Lee in the spring and we could try to hook her up with one of your big boys, if they're horny? Split the babies - Whatcha think??

Keep it fun! - Matt
-----
Matt from Minnesota
Cornsnake, Eastern Kingsnake, IL Bullsnake - all girls.
0.1 Crested Gecko "Camey"; 1.0 Crested Gecko "Spots" RIP

Hi there, MATT! Well, To really answer this one I have to say that first of all you HAVE to know your snakes well! How do you do that? MUCH OBSERVATION and PATIENCE! I have two Columbia county Eastern Kings that I kept in the same cage (this past year) all year until brumation. The male is a 4.5 footer and the female is a little over 4 foot. Never had an incident, but when putting a different snake in there they both go after it like there's no tomorrow and eat it! (But yes, I DO feed seperately , ALWAYS!) I do recommend for all those that havn't kept Kingsnakes as much as I have (for almost 30 years): DON'T try this at home -(keep kings separate!)! I have kept other Kingsnakes of similar size together several times in my career with zero losses so far (knock on wood!). Matt, your female WILL tolerate a male as soon as its' placed in her enclosure that is of similar size, PROVIDED that your female was brumated and has at least eaten a few meals after brumation. You may not believe this because of her fondness of other snakes and her crazed appettite. But I am willing to bet after sniffing the "new snake" in her enclosure and realizing that the smell is similar to hers, her instincts will tell her to size up the target more carefully than she would if you'd placed a corn snake in there. Then she will NOT attack if the male IS similar in size (this IS a programmed instinct behavior). If the male IS a little smaller but old enough to breed, then I would at least try it anyway because a lot of times she will accept him (in the spring only) - BUT ONLY UNDER CLOSE SUPERVISION!
One more thing: If you DO breed, post some pics of the babies - cause I would be interested in at least one!!!

Good luck

Zee

But with my cal kings, I introduce the male to the female once she sheds. I let the male smell the shed as he enters the cage. Most times the female emits fermones once she sheds in the spring time. If they are ready they will hook-up rather fast. I have had the female not be ready to breed and attack the male (numerous coils) and then a week later when I introduce them again, she is ready and they breed.

I always observe the introduction until hook-up before I leave them alone, and then separate them after hook-up. Just to be on the safe side.

Kerby...

Zee and Kerby,

Thanks for the help....sounds like with kings it's all about being dedicated, observant, and carefull. I'll keep y'all updated, working on finding a NICE male...I'm being picky!
-----
Matt from Minnesota
Cornsnake, Eastern Kingsnake, IL Bullsnake - all girls.
0.1 Crested Gecko "Camey"; 1.0 Crested Gecko "Spots" RIP

My easterns were very much different in size last year, and I thought there was no way for a successful breeding. My male was 3x as big as the female but there were no problems..
However, the reason I have 4 Cal kings is because a friend called me in frustration saying "come get these f&$kers" "the damn female just ate my best albino male".
All of my female Cal kings except one exhibit a canniballistic attitude toward any males EXCEPT as Kerby pointed out, when THEY are ready to breed. Just after a shed I give it a try and watch very carefully. If she is the least bit in the hunting mood, I remove the male and try again in a few days.
Watch them carefully. I have a male mole king that was part of a pair until he ate his mate as well.
:Mark

Some females can get a bit fiesty when it comes to breeding especially if they are larger than the male. They key is to find a male thats bigger than your girl as thats a buzzkill for any female lookin for lunch instead of love. Yeah let me know when you are going to be in town Im sure we can have let the snakes breed if your female is willing.

Keith
-----

np
-----
Matt from Minnesota
Cornsnake, Eastern Kingsnake, IL Bullsnake - all girls.
0.1 Crested Gecko "Camey"; 1.0 Crested Gecko "Spots" RIP