Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm new to kingsnakes, being a boa enthusiast for the most part but I also run a small home funded reptile rescue affiliated with my local humane society.. (Affiliated meaning.. they get the animals in and sign them over to me to find homes for or keep as I see fit) I know all the pertinent details of how to care for alterna's for the most part (Any tips or tricks for a possible tricky eater are greatly appreciated though, just in case. I breed all my own rodents so have mice and rats on hand on a permanent basis.. live and frozen).. I'll be getting an adult alterna in sometime mid January or early February, depending on when the person has to leave his current place of residence. My question for everyone here, is.. How possible is it to tell a locality from a picture? I know the patterns differ widely by locality with alterna (as they do with boas of all kinds) but that doesn't always necessarily mean its from a specific place or is a pure locality of any sort. All I was told is its an adult Gray banded King...When I get ahold of it I'll be snapping some pics but I just wanted to know a general idea of whether locality could be identified possibly from a picture or if collection and breeding records are the only sure way to know localty? I've just become curious about them is all since I started my reading for this one. I like to learn as much as I can about any animal I get in with my rescue.. it tells me whether I want to keep them for my own collection or not... I have a wide network of friends who provide homes for those I can't keep or am not really interested in keeping myself.
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
5.11.Leopard geckos (1.2 Blizzards (Caine, Phoenix, and Mirage), 0.2 Tangerine Albinos (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short, and Casper), 1.0 Tremper Albino (Mycah), 0.3 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, and Aris), 1.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas), 1.0 Full Stripe Chocolate Tremper Albino (Discord), 0.1 pastel (Raven) and 1.2 Normals)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros) (R.I.P. November 18, 2005)
13 rats (plus pups)
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Ashe and Hercules)

Alterna people are yery specific about Locality- guessing doesn't come close to the game. If there is any question about the lineage of a particular animal then it is 100% generic or non locality type. the only suggestion I would give you is to either refer to it as either a "western type" or an "eastern type" morph. I think that would be honest and descriptive to an alterna person.

Jim

Ahhhh... thanks.. I was just curious about it.... Since I saw so many locality names being thrown around in here and in my other reading. I'm not getting this one until February so I'm not even sure which it is in a generic term. I'm a boa person usually and I know very well how some of the boa breeders get about locality and specifics of locality.. *L* I had been wondering if it was the same with Alterna. Thanks for the answer and as soon as I get ahold of this one I'll probably post a few photos just for fun...
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
5.11.Leopard geckos (1.2 Blizzards (Caine, Phoenix, and Mirage), 0.2 Tangerine Albinos (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short, and Casper), 1.0 Tremper Albino (Mycah), 0.3 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, and Aris), 1.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas), 1.0 Full Stripe Chocolate Tremper Albino (Discord), 0.1 pastel (Raven) and 1.2 Normals)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros) (R.I.P. November 18, 2005)
13 rats (plus pups)
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Ashe and Hercules)