When it comes to getula, I've kept Cal kings, Florida kings, desert kings, eastern kings, eastern black kings and speckled kings. I've found them all to be "bitey" and have the habit of chewing on me when handled. This was even when they were the first snakes of the day to be handled and even after handwashing. The snakes certainly weren't doing it because they were in need of food - I have a whole lotta snakes and have been keeping and breeding them for quite some time and I know how much they need to eat. This was quite a disappointment, as eastern kings are often mentioned in older literature as the ultimate pet snake (or something like that).

Then I started breeding Mexican Black Kings. They did not get "bitey" like the rest of the getula subspecies I've worked with. I really like MBKs, though I reckon there's something about an all-black or all-white snake that's pretty cool.

There are of course many non-getula kings and besides milk snakes, there's none that I have experience with, though someday I'd like to try my hand at them. I've always thought albino Nelson's Milks were severely underrated. After their price plummeted, there really doesn't seem to be much interest in them from the general public. I find this odd, as their colors are hard to beat, they're tame (even as babies), and they're relatively small - often being ablt to live in a 10 gallon tank-sized cage their whole life.

So one of those would be my pick - an MBK or albino Nelson's.

Tim

Third Eye

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