Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a baby 50/50 (well, not exactly) kingsnake on 7/2. Along with some blurry pictures, I have some questions:

Ok, here we go -
1. Can you tell how old it is by the length?
2. There is a small brown spot on its back that looks like maybe a scale came off. Any insight as to what it might be or if that may be a larger problem?
3. It hasn't eaten since I've gotten it. I know it arrived in the store on 6/29 and shed the day after. Should I be worried yet, or wait a week for that? hehe
4. Is there an easy way of sexing kingsnakes at this age without popping or going to the vet?
5. The humidity is regularly around 80 - 90%, is that too high?
I'll probably have more questions later, thanks for answering!

I'm relatively new to snakes too, but I do know from what I've gathered on this site, that the humidity you're keeping it's house at is WAY too high. Generally, Kings like it anywhere from 40-60 percent humidity. Also, At such a young age especially, i don't think there is any way VISUALLY to sex the animal. Just get it poped. I'm going to be finding out tomorrow whether or not my blotched florida king snake is a male or female.

Side question: What is a "brooksi"? Just wondering because a lot of brooksi's that I have seen on here look much like my blotched florida king! Anyone?

First off it would be great to see a pic of your Florida Blotched King. Blotched is more oftened associated with Appalachicola Kings, or Goins/Goini. Florida Kings are Floridana, and Brooksi,,,or Brooks Kings were a sub species of Floridana. That title was taken away a good 15 years ago but many keepers still refer to the bright yellow south Florida Kings as Brooksi. There's a lot of variation in the looks of Kingsnakes, but after a while you will notice the differences and be able to most likely correctly guess what your looking at. On this forum the three Kings most often seen and discussed are California Kings, Florida/Brooks Kings and Eastern Kings. In these three groups alone there are many many looks and that is not including color and pattern morphs. Tom Stevens

Tom, in my introduction post I just posted a WORKING link to the pics of my snake. Some of them you're able to see his pattern, some are not very good at all. Go take a look if you would, I'd love to hear your feedback. The lady I bought the snake from said that it's a pretty rare snake, but I'd like some your opinions as well. Thanks.

"Popping" is not a 100% accurate way to determine the sex of small snakes. Probing is the only method that is 99.9% sure, and breeding is the only 100% sure way of sexing. . Good luck.

Brandon Osborne
BTW, here are a few "brooksi".

1. Can you tell how old it is by the length?

It is most likely a 2004 animal (so roughly a year old)

2. There is a small brown spot on its back that looks like maybe a scale came off. Any insight as to what it might be or if that may be a larger problem?

Could be a small scar. Post a picture and we could give you a better idea. I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

3. It hasn't eaten since I've gotten it. I know it arrived in the store on 6/29 and shed the day after. Should I be worried yet, or wait a week for that? hehe

No worries, give it a week to settle in and try again.

4. Is there an easy way of sexing kingsnakes at this age without popping or going to the vet?

Probing or popping are the only ways to tell for sure with a snake that young. Neither method should be attempted unless you have someone there to show you how. (maybe someone at the reptile store knows how?)

5. The humidity is regularly around 80 - 90%, is that too high?
I'll probably have more questions later, thanks for answering!

That's pretty high but unless your substrate is wet to the touch I doubt that's accurate. If the substrate is dry, you're using a screen top and running AC in your house, I doubt very much that the humidity is really that high.

Good luck, a Cal king is an excellent choice for someone who is new to snakes.
Chris

Ah, thanks so much for your thorough answers. I'll post a picture in a few days. I don't want to handle it much right now so he can acclimate to his surroundings.