Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got this guy in a trade, was told he is a striped albino california king snake. Obviously he is not striped, but is he a king? And does he look overweight to you?

Yes it is a California Kingsnake. No, it does not look overweight.

Here is a closer pic of his head. This is an odd head pattern. And the reason I ask if he looks over weight is because his scales are stretched and I can see the skin between them. Is that a sign of a fat snake?

i thought that pattern looked weird in the first picture. what you have there is a jungle corn and not a true california king snake - although it most likely has at least half cal king in it. yes, he's a hybrid - most likely at least an f2.

and don't worry too much about him being 'fat' either. one, it means he's got a good appetite and two, he was obviously cared for. many times when people get things in trade it's the other way around.

I'm sorry, but "don't worry about him looking fat"? A fat snake is NOT cared for, it is overfed which is just as bad as underfed. Of course I am going to worry about it. Fiddle stix on him being a jungle. Sigh. I'll put him on a light diet to get him muscular instead of chubby and keep him to one adult mouse, he does not need as many feeders as he can catch in an hour, which is how he was formerly fed. Put a person in a room with an all you can eat buffet and they will overeat everytime, so will snakes. I got the impression they gave him as much as he would eat in a sitting so he would get to breeding size faster. When I got him I asked if they were sure it was a fair trade and they actually said:

We already bred him, he's nothing to us.

Now that is cold. Thanks for the info on what he is. Now I can label him properly for my records.

I totally agree with the other poster, That is definitely a hybrid. Most likely just as he said, an amel "jungle corn"(king x corn).

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com