Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello new here. I been keeping snakes for awhile and love reading about them and the many different species and all the pics. well anyways im not a breeder but I read bout how certain snakes need to be certain weights in order to breed safely. I like mainly colubrids and mountain kingsnakes. the Arizona mountain kingsnake to be specific. L pyro pyro. I get confused because they always refer to another snake name when talking bout its breeding habits and no book or internet search is that species specific. basically what is the actual size range for an adult and at what size does it safely breed at? and does it really prefer the elevations and rock slates over 4000 feet? thank you

Regarding breeding weights: those are guidelines, not absolutes. For example, saying a human needs to be at least a certain weight to give birth would equally be a guideline at best (and make many angry) but in no way a true statement.

Male and female snakes need to be sexually mature to breed. That is fact. Smaller females can produce just fine. However, in captivity, and probably due to the limitations of captivity, many breeders a decade or more ago had better results if the females had a good amount of growth before breeding them. It is not a bad thing to go by - waiting until the female is a good 3yrs old and stout - but it is not to say that they cannot produce successfully when smaller.

Yes, they like rock slides, but not all live in rock slides. In general, mountain kingsnakes use rock structures to provide warm basking areas, security and protection from freezing during winter. The rocky crevices extend well under ground. Mountain kings usually live in areas where they do not compete with the larger common kingsnakes, and this often (but my no means always) means the higher elevations (but not too high of course).

Find "Mountain Kingsnakes" by Brian Hubbs if you can. Awesome book.