Kingsnakes and Milksnakes - Lampropeltis

Kingsnake and Milksnakes are very beautiful snakes with shiny smooth scales. The genus is exclusive to the new world, ranging from Canada down into South America. They kill by constriction and are known for their reptile appetite, though they do extremely well on a rodent diet in captivity. Many species are immune to the venom of the venomous snakes they share native habitat with.

Contrary to popular belief, they do not specifically seek out venomous snakes to prey upon. They seek out any reptile to prey upon, venomous or not.

Due to their taste for reptile prey, cannibalism sometimes occurs when housed together. This is more common with the larger species than the smaller species, and is more common when underfed, but it is still a good idea with any species to house them separately and to wash your hands between handling specimens to avoid the scent of reptile on your hands.

California Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula californiae)

One of the most post popular colubrids in the pet industry, probably second only to the Corn Snake. California Kingsnakes typically are a confident docile snake with a healthy appetite and are very easy to take care of. They make an excellent beginner snake yet remain enjoyable even for the experienced herptile keeper.

Currently I work primarily with banded California Kingsnakes, including the Amel and Lavender morphs.

In 2009 I will probably have some captive bred Redding, CA locality California Kingsnakes for sale. This locality is a rather neat locality. The cream bands are extremely white down the spine, but turn yellowish as the bands move down the sides and onto the belly. The vast majority of California Kingsnakes I have seen in the pet trade have fairly uniform colored bands, rather than a shift from bone white to yellow.

California Kingsnakes are native to the State of California, the state where I reside. As a native species, they fall under the regulations of the California Department of Fish & Game. The California Kingsnakes I offer are legally bred under permit RA0282.

Some natural history information on the California Kingsnake can be found at http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/l.g.californiae.html.

Available California Kingsnakes

Clutch 2007AB

Banded het Lavender. The father is a wild caught long term captive normal Cal King, the mother is a captive bred Lavender Albino Cal King. I am not sure which Lavender strain the Lavender gene is from.

One male is still available from this clutch.

Clutch 2007AC

Banded het Amel. The father is a wild caught long term captive normal Cal King, the mother is a captive bred Amel Albino Cal King. These snakes are an excellent way to introduce fresh genetics into an existing Amel Cal King line.

A 1.2 trio (one male, two females) are still available from this clutch. I would prefer to sell them as a trio.

Clutch 2008AB

All seven eggs have hatched, 5 males and 2 females. Pictures will be uploaded as soon as they have shed.

Mexican Black Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula nigrita)

No getula collection is complete without an MBK. These are exceptionally beautiful snakes, with a silky black sheen that is best described as incredibly sexy.

Often times MBK's hatch out of the egg with some visible light patterning on them. This pattern usually darkens are they grow leaving a virtually completely black snake. Often a white or yellow spot remains under the chin, a spot I like to call a "Soul Patch".

MBK's in my experience tend to be a little more docile and confident than California Kingsnakes, very quickly calming down in captivity. This is probably the best subspecies of Common Kingsnake for the new keeper.

Mexican Black Kingsnakes are referred to as Western Black Kingsnakes in some literature.

Available Mexican Black Kingsnakes

No MBK's are currently available. I should be producing a clutch in 2009.

Florida and Brook's Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula floridana)

The Brook's Kingsnake, sometimes called South Florida Kingsnake, use to be classified as its own subspecies, (Lampropeltis getula brooksi) and is often marketed as "Brooksi". That classification is now considered invalid, and Brook's Kingsnake is now considered to be just a pattern variation of the Florida Kingsnake.

Many of the Brook's Kingsnakes being sold under that name in the pet market have blood in them from Florida Kingsnakes that are outside the original range of Brook's Kingsnake. Some Florida Kings are sold as Brook's purely for marketing reasons. I can not trace the ancestry of all of my stock back to wild caught South Dade County locality, so it certainly is possible that my Brook's have heritage from outside the original Brook's range.

According to the Roger Conant first edition field guide (1958) pg 168, the South Florida (Brook's) Kingsnake is described as:

Palest of the large Kingsnakes. Each individual dorsal scale is yellowish or cream-colored at base and brown at apex. Indications of light crosslines are sometimes present, especially in neck region. Belly is cream to pale yellow with spots of tan or pinkish brown.

Florida Kings that fit that description as adults are what I consider to be Brook's phase Florida Kings, whether or not I can trace their ancestry back to locality Brook's in their historic range.

It is my desire to be as accurate as possible when labeling floridana as Brook's phase.

Available Florida Kingsnakes

My Florida projects are just getting started. I will not be producing any Florida Kingsnakes until 2010 at the earliest.

Hybrids and Intergrades

Adobe Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula nigrita X Lampropeltis getula californiae)

To the best of my knowledge, there is not yet an established trade name associated with the cross between the Mexican Black Kingsnake and California Kingsnake. I am going to use the trade name "Adobe Kingsnake" to refer to this cross.

Note that there is a natural intergrade range between these two subspecies. The Adobe Kingsnake trade name probably should only refer to the man made captive cross, not the natural cross that has also has the influence of natural selection in the gene flow between the subspecies. The natural locality intergrades undoubtedly will look somewhat different.

Available Adobe Kingsnakes

Clutch 2008AA

9 hatchlings, last out on the 4th of July. Most of them are already feeding and will be available soon.

All the young appear melenistic and have sock heads. They have a high band count with very thin bands, on some of them the banding looks like splendida (Desert King) banding.

Expected Clutch 2008AC

Unexpected double clutch, most were obviously infertile but two look like they might make it. If they do, they should hatch middle of August.