Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This little one just shed for and I had to take a pic.
I hatched out only 4 from a wild collected pair from Corpus Christi, Texas. They look great in my opinion.
Thanks for looking,
John Lassiter

What a difference that first shed makes. Have you tried feeding those little fatlings yet LOL

Chris

I have pinkies thawing out...I hope they take frozen thawed their first feeding. I think I can coax them into it. I have had lots of experience with those stubborn mexicana....LOL
Thanks for the compliment Chris. Still waiting on Thayeri eggs to pip. I think next weekend they shall come.....LOL
John Lassiter

.....cuz thats no splendida! Im a say'n thats nearly a spec & surely an intergrade...tho a fine looking king at that...
A real Tx splendida...Ima sayn is like a real brooks...real yeller &.... kinda hard to find

Yes...I am aware that these are not pure Splendida rather Splendida/Holbrooki intergrades. But, they are locale specific intergrades from wild collected parents or wild collected eggs. I have them from three locales in South Texas (Nueces, Aransas and Calhoun counties) Out of the three locales they are more Holbrooki like in the northern of the three counties, Calhoun.
The most Yellow specimens I have seen come from around the Houston/Galveston area and as far south as Calhoun county....They are still not pure Texas Splendida, rather mostly Holbrooki in my opinion.
Also the purest Splendida I know of are from west Texas were there is no intergration.
Thanks,
John Lassiter

Check out the post below Preacher Pat's.....I stated the ones from Calhoun are in fact Splendida/Holbrooki intergrades....
I wonder though if those will turn the bright yellow like the adults found in that area????
I noticed the Nueces Co. babies were more yellow after their first shed.
Thanks again,
John Lassiter

Well, I'ma sayin' dat's nearly a splendida and not so much a speck but yes, clearly an intergrade. Regal, we are seeing more of the holbrooki being weeded out of the gene pool in far south Texas and just about have a handle on the north/south intergrade zone. Look on the backs of the first two and you will definitely see the strong circles, although not your true sockheads. That third specimen retains a little pattern with massive speckling, as does this Calhoun co. specimen. A lot of field work has gone into this, so let's not be hasty! Wish we could get some nice, dark black with high yellow desert sockheads, but this is what it is, as stated, a desert/speck king from south Texas. Sorry if short but that's my toes you's steppin'on! LOL!
Todd Hughes

oh, and by the way, NICE JOB JOHN!!! Jiffy pop all the way! Orville Redenbacher's got nothin' on you! YOU DA MAN! Congrats on your Calhoun co. pair as well!
Todd Hughes

....lordy god those deep yellows are pretty specs...I cant remember what I was even looking at now...oh yeah...but a far W Tejas to E Az splendida can be almost as nice...

That's about the cleanest lookin splendida i ever seen.
here's not so clean "CACTUS JILL"

Thanks Jetzen,
The mother to these is kinda brownish, but the father is jet black like the babies. I don't know if some will lighten up as they mature, but they do look fantastic now. Nice and shiny.
John Lassiter

Hey John,
Cool lookin' little one!!! How are the Aransas Co. eggs doin'???
Pat

Thanks Pat....

They are due to hatch around the 21st....I predict a little sooner though. I hope to have at least 7 Aransas Co. Splendida.
A buddy of mine Todd (antelope) collected some eggs in the wild in Calhoun Co., TX (the same locale of an awesome Splendida/Holbrooki intergrade he has). Those 4 eggs are hatching now. I was not sure they were kingsnake eggs, but lo and behold they are Splendida/Holbrooki babies for sure.
John Lassiter
Here is a shot of one of the wild collected Calhoun Co. eggs hatching. (I cut it open a bit for the shot....LOL)

John! I'm appalled! Not really! I had a feeling that this was what it was gonna be! I put in a ton of field work searching these out and figured they'd be under a slab of concrete I couldn't get to, but F.R.'s stuff got me thinkin' and they will be where the snake feels right. Right next to a handy food supply of skinks and broad banded water and ribbon snakes, under an old stove! Cool pics and can't wait to see the neos. I couldn't go to sleep after reading your e.m.! LOL! Now I know what you "mother hens" go through every year!
Todd Hughes