• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Curious about Kings

Jillian

New member
I have a lot of corn snakes and love them, but as of late I've been falling in love with king snakes. How different are they to care for than corns?
 
General care is pretty much the same (food, temps, caging).
I have experienced Kingsnakes to be a little more flightly, in general, than Cornsnakes, but that can change with regular handling. (The flightly ones are often prone to musking too).

That said, I love my Kings! I have Mexican Black Kings, and Cali Kings.
Here are a few of my Kingsnakes.
 

Attachments

  • Nazas.jpg
    Nazas.jpg
    104.5 KB · Views: 94
  • Salton.jpg
    Salton.jpg
    120.3 KB · Views: 94
  • Tulare.jpg
    Tulare.jpg
    86.6 KB · Views: 94
Depending on the species, care is pretty much the same.

I love king snakes :) They have a bit more attitude than corns, some can be nippy and watch out on feeding day!
 
I have heard that breeders of other snake species often keep one or two kings as "garbage cans", so as to not waste things like refused meals and even babies that don't make it!

From what I have read, their care is almost identical (except maybe a slightly larger enclosure, depending on the species).
If all you have is corns, why not try something new? :)

Best of luck!
 
I have heard that breeders of other snake species often keep one or two kings as "garbage cans", so as to not waste things like refused meals and even babies that don't make it!

From what I have read, their care is almost identical (except maybe a slightly larger enclosure, depending on the species).
If all you have is corns, why not try something new? :)

Best of luck!

I tend to avoid giving refused meals to other snakes, on the off chance that the refused meal is due to an RI. It rarely happens, (I've had 2 RI's total, both were CArpet Pythons) but I would rather be safe than sorry.
I do give my Kings slugs and DIE babies.
 
I've heard the 'garbage can' thing too. I'm not a breeder, I've had one clutch and plan on one or two more in a few years.

I just love the look of them and the colours that they have. This would just be a pretty pet.
 
I wish my king snakes were garbage disposals. They are the pickiest.
My frilled lizard has decided to take on the job for me though.

In general, I love my kings!! Especially my brooks. She's the cutest widdle baby in the whole wide world!!!
 
To say "Kingsnakes" is to refer to a rather large group of animals, some are very similar but others are incredibly different from each other.

Usually when people say kingsnake they mean a member of the Lampropeltis Getula group- Florida/Brooks, Desert, Blotched, Mexican Black, California. Usually members of this "sect" are the famous garbage disposals discussed- I would however refrain from moving uneaten food items from one snake to another... too many health hazards.
These are rather robust animals, active, have a VERY powerful feeding response, and yes, sometimes there's a mean snake in the bunch but usually they are all quite tame.

Lampropeltis Mexicana- I love these... they are way smaller, kind of picky eaters,you need to make sure you get babies that freely eat f/t. Wonderful colors, very docile... my personal favorite kingsnake is the L.Mexicana Thayeri... wish I could get a hold on a couple of orange ones.

You also have Prairie kingsnakes and Arizona mountain kingsnakes.... check'em all out and see what you like most.
 
I love Cal kings! My Sherlock is more calm in your hand than my 3 corns. He can get a little ornery on feeding days, but I handle him anyway if I need to. So far he's full of bluff, no bites yet.

Milk snakes are a subspecies of kingsnake. I have a Pueblan and a black milk snake, and the first can be a crazy spaz but then he lays motionless in your hand, and the second is the most calm baby snake I have ever had.
 
Milksnakes are related to, but are not considered kingsnakes from what I know.
Lamrpopeltis Triangulum include Black Milks, Pueblan, Nelsoni, Honduran, Sinaloan. They tend to be more twitchy than most kings, again, it's a game of averages here- you get exceptions all the time.
 
I had read recently in a Kingsnakes and Milk snakes book that all milk snakes are kingsnakes, but not all kingsnakes are milk snakes. My Nook is dead so I can't tell you the page number in the particular book. I was under the impression that all Lampropeltis were kings, after reading this book.

I found the book on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Kingsnakes-Mi...id=1393832400&sr=1-3&keywords=kingsnakes+book

It's in the introduction if you click "Look Inside".

I would definitely agree that milks are twitchy! With the black milk exception that most people talk about, though.
 
Really?
I recall that "Lampropeltis" refers to "shield scales" which is a defining feature for Kingsnakes(on their heads).
I didn't know that ALL Lampropeltis are considered Kingsnakes... especially since I thought Kingsnakes are called by that name due to their dining preferance being other snakes(Milks do not eat snakes as I recall, no?)

Anywhoo, I might be wrong.

A few of my Kings:

MBK


Hypo Brook's King


1.1 high white California Kings



White-Sided Brook's Kingsnake
 
I love your Cal kings pictured!

The comment about all Lampros being kings is just my assumption after reading that part in the Kings and Milks book. I certainly could be wrong! But I wanted to reference that book as to why I said milks are considered kings.

Edit: I have read sources that say milk snakes eat other snakes. Here is one I found: http://www.lihs.org/files/caresheets/Lampropeltis.htm
 
I remember back when I first came close to getting a snake in 2010 I was really stuck on getting a Mexican Black King instead of a corn.... they just look so gorgeous!

I would be tempted to get one when I eventually get round to looking at another snake :)
 
I wish my Cali kings would eat.. Anything. They are the hardest ones to get to eat, the boy isn't so bad, but the female maybe eats once every couple of months.
 
Basic Husbandry is pretty much the same,

Im just going to add this briefly, they are like night and day personality wise (IMO and short experience with them), my Brooks Florida King is very aggressive, I must keep her well fed , I mean well fed or she will bite, she has never bit hard or drew blood, in fact she usually just bites and releases.

But shes docile when fed but she is still very active 24/7 even when I hold her.

Mine will eat anything anytime, I feed her everything that my others leave behind. No waste in my house .

To quote Nanci, " Everyone should have a Garbage Disposal Snake."
 
Mine will eat anything anytime, I feed her everything that my others leave behind. No waste in my house .

To quote Nanci, " Everyone should have a Garbage Disposal Snake."

Very painful lesson I learned by having 85% of my collection decimated 2 years ago- this is a very good way to spread Crypto, I -really- recommend against the practice.
 
Back
Top