Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I was wondering if anybody knows about B/W desert cal kings with perfect bands? No breaks or imperfections at all. I had one 2 years ago but he escaped and got killed. I've never found one before or since him. I figured this would be a good place to see how common, (or uncommon) they are. And how possible it would be to find a pair? From who? Thanks alot for any help or suggestions. Also, if anyone has any pics, I think they're one of the most impressive snakes and would love to see some. I wish I still had mine. He'd be almost breedable by now. Thanks. Ryan.

Hard to consistently keep the 50-50 (not on the breeding pair but on the offspring) constant. I produce 50-50's every year but not all the babies from the same clutch look the same. But I have seen clutches from other people that consistently produced 50-50's from the same adults. Plus it is hard to get exactly 50% white and 50% black/brown. I believe the term is used for kings that are close to 50-50, some will be a little more and some a little less.

Here is one of my breeder females which I ended up breeding with a male Mendota. She happens to be in the blue.

Kerby...

She (50-50) is now in her pre-shed.

Kerby...

that it's like the luck of the draw? I just have to keep searching and maybe I'll get lucky enough to find another one or even better, two. Those are really nice snakes but i'm not sure if you understand what I mean. I mean banded, desert phase cal kings with perfect bands. No "abberance" or breaks or anything. Solid bands from head to tail. No imperfections. That's what I had a couple of years ago and I couldn't even believe it. I've gone back to the pet store I got him from because they get from the same breeder every year. Last year they didn't get any. I'm about to try again for this year. These are something that I've been actively searching for for a very long time with very little to no luck at all.

The line of cal kings that I am working with aren't consistent so therefore I don't produce a lot of them. There are people that do produce whole clutches that are 50-50 like you are talking about. Don't give up. Starting next month the classifieds will be very busy as the 2003's are hatching and there will be some cal kings that you are looking for.

You could get a pair of 50-50's and they can produce more for you, but the odds of producing a 50-50 from regular banding are very slim. IMO

Good luck and keep your eyes open, especially on the classifieds.

Kerby...

I didn't think average banded adults usually produced perfect ones. Occasionally, but not usually. The thing is though, nobody ever advertises them as perfect. I'm on the classifieds everyday. And have been for a couple years now. And I've never seen and ad titled like that. You'd think people would make that known. Sometimes I check with people to see if they have any like what I'm looking for and they say they have had them before but not recently. I won't give up. They're like near the top of the list of animals that I want. I just wanted to get some other people's opinions on what my chances are of finding them. Thanks alot man. I appreciate you comments.

A 2002 male that does not have complete bands and also has more white than black/brown.

Kerby...

Kerby...