Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know the breeding size of a Cal King has been discussed time and time again, however I have somewhat of a different question to pose. I have a 2004 female Cal King that is 34 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in circumference. I also have a 2000 male Cal king that is 52 inches long and 4 inches in circumference. Could I breed this pair without fear of the male eating the female? Is it advisable to breed snakes with this size difference? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Kevin

I've never had a male want to eat a female....on the other hand...I've had a few females that wanted to eat the males.

I haven't lost a cal king to cannibalism yet.....

Just have to watch them during the mating process.

I have bred small males to large females without any problems.

Here is a pic of a small Ghost male breeding a large female Mendota (hypermelanistic).

Kerby...

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Lonesome Valley Reptiles
www.lonesomevalleyreptiles.com
Specializing In California Kingsnakes

Kerby and I have debated this before, and while it is much more rare then females attacking males, I have seen two males attack and try to eat females.

Either way you should be 100% fine. But as general kingsnake breeding rules...

Don't put hungry snakes together. Make sure they are both well fed before introduction.

Don't leave them unsupervised at least for the first few days.

And always have a bucket of room temperature water to break them up if they go for each other.

Cheers

Thanks for the replies. I look forward to spring when I can put these two together. Kevin