Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, all!
My name's Sarah, I'm sixteen and I've taken a rather fervent interest in adopting a serpent. I'm not new to the realm of pet-"ownership," and I know that it's no easy job but most definitely worth the effort. My mother has two cats at her house that I help tend to, as well a the siamese fighting fish which I feed and care for on my own (two years and still happy & kicking!). At my father's house, I have a pet cockatiel whom I take full responsibility for and I've had him for a good year and a half now (and he is very cuddly and happy), so I know how to competently care for an animal and its needs.
Well, I've been checking into the local libraries and have been trying to scour the internet for all the information I can find about King Snakes (you see, in my area the only snakes I can "legally" adopt are kings, corns, and --- rather oddly --- rattlers. They passed some stupid legislation on larger reptiles because some idiot probably picked up a Kenyan boa or a large constrictor of some sort or another and put the poor bloke around his/her neck and died from asphyxiation. Unfortunately the local government is only interested in protecting the ignoramuses in the area --- of course the local government isn't too bright themselves if they allow people to "own" rattlesnakes. Plus, certain sub-species of kings are indiginous to my area, so if I ever had to release the bloke it wouldn't upset the New York State ecosystem). King snakes, as far as I know, are easily tamed and reach a *managable* length of approximately 1 meter(3ft), although there are specimens of 2 meters (6ft) on record (is it only the Commons that get that big? idk . . .).
As one can plainly see, I don't know a whole lot about kings, other than how big they get and their natural environments . . . the library hasn't been of much assistance, the internet has proved to be a trial as well.
I would greatly appreciate it if someone could step forward and offer all of the info and advice they have. I already have an aquarium that is large enough for a king (13" deep x 36" long x 18" high)--- as long as the bugger doesn't get any larger than 3 or 4 feet, though I could easily obtain a larger enclosure if it is necessary.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
~Sarah

interesting lil post... i liked your sarcasm.

Any way it would be easier to answer specific questions you have.

what type of kings interests you, how many do you plan on getting...

not sure where you are located but in the mean time here's a link to a local expo you may wanna check out if you're in the metro NY area or close to it.
link to expo

-----
Thanx
Royal Blue Reptilez

~ZF

Get a Sinaloan Milksnake.

1)They are prettier than kingsnakes.
2)They are cheap.
3)Easy to take care of.
4)They match your pink writing

Start with Breeding Colubrid Snakes - even though you aren't breeding, it does have some good info about kingsnakes in captivity.

There are pet-store books specifically about kingsnakes, milksnakes or both. You can find them perhaps at www.beanfarm.com or other suppliers, like Big Apple Herpetological, Creative Pet Supply, etc (look on kingsnake.com's suppliers list.)

Good luck.

I've gotta say, your vocabulary seems to be quite advanced for a person your age, kudos on that. Also, are you australian or do you just like to say "bloak"?

Nonetheless, like ZF said before, more specific questions could yield better responses. Welcome to to the site.