Reptile & Amphibian Forums

These eggs were laid on May 22. The brown spots you see started appearing about 10 weeks ago. Do the eggs look ok? What is taking so long? Is this normal?

Those eggs look fine but 10 weeks is a long time. I have always kept my temps lower than most people and they hatch in 70-75 days.
You also didn't mention what kind of snake eggs they are?

They are calking eggs from aberrant female from coastal Los Angeles County. Very melanistic. I mean't to say the eggs started getting brown spots 10 days ago, not 10 weeks. I kept them at lower temps too.

Well if they were laid on May 22nd they would be near 70 days. So I expect they will start pipping any day now.

Also what do you mean by Los Angles county? Westchester, Playa del rey, Long Beach ?? Did you collect them yourself? Did you acquire a wildcaught pair or are your adults captive born?

Interesting kings I would like to know more about them.

I found the female from the Culver City area. It took me years to find a male from the same area. The male looks like a regular coastal.

I grew up in that area and know it like the back of my hand. I am on the east coast now and would love to know where you found them in Culver city. I didn't think there was any habitat left.Nice find. I may want some babies from you after they hatch.

If you get out here in the future let's hook up and look for some calkings. March is the best time for these. email me some details, perhaps I can send you a hatchling.

I do make some trips out there in the spring, but I wouldn't be looking for snakes in Culver City ,LOL. I would be up in the mountains for z and rubbers or down south for boas.

I would want a pair just for the fact I was looking for snakes in the area before i could even drive a car. I grew up in the Dogtown area and knew the infamous motley crew. I once had a run in with the whole bunch at a surf festival in Santa Monica civic auditorium back in '77. But thats another story best kept secret.

I will send you an email.

Rainer

Hi, the dark spots are the actual color of the kingsnake, the ends are not calcified. I have seen this many times. One thing, they are not albinos, hahahahahahaha they look great and do not cut them or anything, they will hatch. FR

I am happy to hear this morph still exists. I remember seeing some like that from Hermosa beach about 30 years ago...and I heard there were some like that at Signal Hill-Long Beach. Good luck, it will be fun to see the hatchlings, I hope you will post! Best regards, Vic

At Hermosa Beach reptile shop. A good friend of mine, Rick Raeber, who now lives in Tucson owned mother natures. And I met Ted Davis, while I worked at Hermosa reptile. He was who I collected lots of mexicana kings with.

Any Ted is the one who collected us lots of Those dark morphs, only he collected them at LA airport and they were very chocolate brown with no visable markings, only a small whitish stripe at the edge of the ventrals.

I have a story about one of those kings and Ernie Wagner. If your interested. FR

Gosh FR you are old.

At Hermosa Beach reptile shop. A good friend of mine, Rick Raeber, who now lives in Tucson owned mother natures. And I met Ted Davis, while I worked at Hermosa reptile. He was who I collected lots of mexicana kings with.

I have a story about one of those kings and Ernie Wagner. If your interested. FR

What year did Hermosa reptile Farm close? I used to love going to Monrovia zoological supply. Know any of those people there?

I would love to hear about those kings and the story with Ernie!

Those eggs look great, please post pics they when they hatch! Which sound like any day now. I have seen several urban kings and gophers in the baldwin hills, they have all been very dark brown to black with dirty yellow bands. I love that "hyper"mel.

good luck

Yeah, the gopher snakes are really dark. Some people have called them ugly, but I like em. Over the years I have noticed that the calkings I have observed, about 1 out of every 10 are aberrant from over there with all brown bellies on some. All the aberrant's were females, 2 of 4 with all brown bellies. I found one that almost resembles a splendida. I will post a pic.

Wow, this egg thread is evolving...Coils, that is a cool photo, it sort of tells it like it is in the urban/rural interface where a few reptiles hang on.

Frank, do tell us the story. I love hearing about the predevelopment of So. Ca., it really was a wondrous place.
BTW, Hermosa reptile was quite an experience. Most impressive to me, 30 years later, (attn: Keith Hillson) was a giant Eastern Kingsnake. I hesitate to say how large, you will all lambast me...owner Ray Folsom told me it was sent in as "cobra food", and he took a fancy to it despite skinny run down condition and restored its health and vigor. I have been enamored with L. getula getula ever since. Do you remember it FR?

Oops...correction...dudifusmaximus, that photo of the brown and yellow king under broken pavement is really cool. Forgive me "coils", I did not mean to "misquote". Vic