Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can anyone help me here. I bought my snake from the pet store awhile back and when prior to buying him, the pet store told me that it was a black thayeri kingsnake. He is jet black with a very nice blue tint to him. As time went on, I started to investigate more about my snake throught the net. I've seen pictures of a Black Milksnake that also jet black with a blue tint color to them. Now I am confused. I don't know whether it's a king or milk. Is there any black thayeri kings that are jet black with blue tint coloration to them, or was I mistakenly told? Some help would be greatly appreciated.

Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri (variously known as Nuevo Leon, Variable, or Thayer’s Kingsnake) occurs in several distinctive color/pattern morphs, one of which is melanistic. Those animals are entirely black, from hatching on, and reach an adult length of 30-40 inches or so. There is also a Black Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum gaigeae) that starts out tricolored (like most tropical milksnakes) but gradually becomes jet black as an adult, and attains large size (5-6 ft). A third possible candidate is the Mexican Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula nigrita) that most often is completely black from hatching to adulthood, but sometimes retains faint traces of a pattern. My guess is that if your snake is fairly small and is all black, and it was sold to you as a thayeri—it probably is a thayeri. Congratulations…they are terrific snakes! Check out this link to get some idea of the wonderful variety of thayeri, although this is just the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/thayeri.htm

Regards,

Bob Hansen

Thank-you so much for helping me out! I know now what I can breed him with. He's awesome, very calm and not nippy at all. I hope that I can find a female to breed with him, if not, i'll have to try and crossbreed him with my ghost corn snake. Thanks!!!