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looking for info on Grey Banded King Snakes??

Justine66

Justine66

Cuddling with Colubrids<3
heyy all, :)

so I'm in the market for another snake..
want a western hognose but I'm not finding them easy to find lol
so I'm keeping my mind open, I want something small, and pretty to look at, which the hoggys arnt but their personalitys what make me want one..

so I was looking around and found the grey banded king snakes..
their wicked looking, and I love their grey eyes!

so I was wondering who on here keeps them???

what's there temperament like?
size?
keeping conditions? (I have already read about this a little, they seem similar to my Mexican milk care wise, but I would love to learn more!)

yeah that's about it! these guys seem pretty neat!
I'd also love to hear any other options your may have that fit my discription.
lol

thanks in advance! :eek:
 
I worked with graybands for years. The one thing I'll say is have a mouse colony! Some babies will eat f/t like any other kingsnake, but I had lots that would starve without live. Temperament is typically gentle, but flighty. I cared for them exactly like corns, but too many babies gave me fits. Too bad you're in Canada, I (and probably others here) have bunches of hognose.
 
HeavenHell keeps some and posts beautiful pictures of them! They are really nice looking snakes.
 
Lampropeltis Mexicana Alterna... unlike other Lampropeltis species, the Mexicana complex is consisted of some of the more exquisite and colorful snakes out there.
They are very tame and docile... easily spooked as babies.
Much less voracious than other Kings... can be a bit of a pain to get started on f/t or even rodents at first.

Reach humble sizes... up to 3-3.5 feet or so, very slender.

You have two common "phases"- Alterna and Blairi... check them out and see which you prefer... they differ in the grey and orange hues, and the size/order of the bandings.

Awesome choice, you'll love'em.
 
chip: yeah I have hears that they are hard to get started on pinkys, but I plan to get a well started hatchling, lol and thanks for the reminder.. I wish I did live in the states, everyone has hognoses.. :(
lol ill find one, one day! ;)

spyderk- thanks hopefully she sees my post! :eek:

and kokopellie- thanks for the info! I already know I like the ones with wider banding, lol but I'm not sure which of the two that is.. lol

lol but thanks guys for the info!
feel free to add more info! :)
 
Kokopelli said:
can be a bit of a pain to get started on f/t or even rodents at first.
Click to expand...

Hah! That's an understatement! I used to breed them and I was unbelievably excited the first year I had babies hatch out. Forty something, if I remember correctly, and not a one of them would eat pinky mice, live or F/T. So I was out beating the bushes every weekend trying to catch enough baby fence lizards, and buying mediterranean geckos when I could find them for sale reasonably priced, just to get those suckers to feed and eventually scent them over to mice. I did this for a few years until I got REAL tired of the hassle with the feeding issues. And truth be known, one of my most notable regrets working with reptiles is the number of baby fence lizards I killed to feed those baby gray banded kings. I SERIOUSLY like fence lizards.......

So if you want a gray banded king, get one as a pet and don't breed the darn things unless you want a challenge keeping the babies alive. And if you do decide to breed them, give them a LOT of calcium/vitamin D3 supplements, otherwise you will have trouble getting fertile and well developed eggs.
 
On the academic side, Gerry Salmon is one of the acknowledged experts on alterna - Google some of his work or forum posts. He did a nice talk on them for the East Texas Herp Society a few months back - I suspect he's forgotten more about alterna than most of us will ever know...
 
thanks guys!

and yes I've read to many stories of them wanting lizards as babies.. so no breeding going on here there going to be a pet only. BUT of I were to get a female and NOT breed her.would she still need the calcium and vitamin D3 supplement, cause I know that even.females that don't Berenice will still lay infertile clutches..

would this be nessasary?
I was looking for a female.. but shell be a pet only. :)
 
I dont know much about them but I will say that I just recently acquired an adult male, and boy is he awesome. He's a shy eater but a very mellow, small snake.
 
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