Got a Kingsnake today!!!

[MariaOrrom]

Hi
I got a kingsnake today. Wow shes a beauty. But what kind is she, does anyone know! Any rules on how to keep her thats different to the corns. I have beautiful Corn. shes an August baby and she is already over 2 and a half foot long. Take a look at this photo of my new babe, her name is Jones.
Maria

[Kevin S.]

maybe lavendar albino-I'm not up on cal king morphs

[MariaOrrom]

What you think of him!!

[MariaOrrom]

This is probably a better picture though!

[Simon]

nice~
love those lavendar coloration on it~~

[Alex Dew]

WOW!!!

what a beautiful Cal King. How much did you pay for her???

Alex

[DAND]

She is an albino Lavender. Great looking snake!

[rolph1414]

i like that kingsnake of yours!!

[MariaOrrom]

Thats great, I am glad you like her, shes really different to my corn. She is really fast and got a little attitude, but not striking. She only does that when shes hungry they said!
I paid €75 for her. Was that good? She is meant to be 4 months old.
Maria:)

[Skye]

a very beautiful snake!

Skye

[nica_chick412]

Here is a pic of my new king. Having some trouble with her. She is nothing like my corn Ruby. Ruby is so laid back and cool. The King ( we call him Predator) is just a totally different temperment all together.

[MariaOrrom]

He looks gorgeous, great name too. What problems are you having with him? I am only used to Corns and my new king is completely different to my Corn. Are they ok to feed and all that. I haven't tried that yet, giving her a little space since I only got her on Saturday.
Whats your new fella like and any advice?
Maria:)

[nica_chick412]

maria,
One person told me that once my King got bigger, it would eat my Corn! I guess that they eat other snakes. The problem with mine is that she hasn't tamed down any since I brought her home. I have searched this whole chat forum on how to introduce new pets to their new homes, how to "tame" them. And I have followed their advice strictly. However mine keeps farting/scenting me. And it is just down right nasty! My sister came by after Predator scented me and asked me.... "Nica, did you just **** your pants?" It smells horrid. :crying: I was very surprised. I think that once she gets used to her surroundings you could try to feed her a pinkie or two. You might want to inquire with others though... I am not at all an expert. :) Your king is absolutely beautiful. Keep me posted on how he is doing.

Nica

[CornCrazy]

Ummm, I don't think it is a lavender...
My albino was colored just like yours when he was a baby. He is still pink, but has lost most of the "lavender look." Here is a picture of him: http://www.uploadit.org/CornCrazy/aspen.jpg

Here is a link to a picture of a lavender cal king:
http://www.renegadereptiles.com/lavender1.htm

[DAND]

Originally posted by nica_chick412
maria,
One person told me that once my King got bigger, it would eat my Corn! I guess that they eat other snakes. The problem with mine is that she hasn't tamed down any since I brought her home. I have searched this whole chat forum on how to introduce new pets to their new homes, how to "tame" them. And I have followed their advice strictly. However mine keeps farting/scenting me. And it is just down right nasty! My sister came by after Predator scented me and asked me.... "Nica, did you just **** your pants?" It smells horrid. :crying: I was very surprised. I think that once she gets used to her surroundings you could try to feed her a pinkie or two. You might want to inquire with others though... I am not at all an expert. :) Your king is absolutely beautiful. Keep me posted on how he is doing.

Nica

King snakes do that a lot. With work (and smelly hands) they will get better.

ALSO, NEVER HOUSE A CORN AND A KING (or two Kings for that matter). Even as babies a king will try to eat other snakes.

[MariaOrrom]

Yup Terri that looks like my girl, just the markings are different. Hers are more zebra. Shes doing well, just ate the other day so I am very pleased about that. Do Kings grow as big as corns?
So what I have is likely an Albino then is it.
Ta.
Maria
:D

[MariaOrrom]

Thanks Nica,
I know what you mean about yuck!! I have a corn that likes to poo on me but has been quite well behaved lately which is great. Maybe hes growing out of it.
The first time I took my kingsnake out of her box to put her in her new viv she pooed on me! So I was well and truly introduced to her......... some hand shake!! She looked like she was going to do it tonight when I took her would to have a play as well but stopped! She is really different to my corn but so far hasn't bitten or had a strike at me. I feed her in a seperate feed box so that she doesn't think I am going to feed her each time I put my hand in the viv. I hope it works anyway. She ate well this week. Keep me posted on your guy, wow that sounds weird, never had one fart on my before!!!!!
Maria:(

[MegF.]

I think Stephen that posts here had Kings at one time, but gave them up because they were too much trouble. They definitely eat other snakes, and they can't be together even for a moment. He said his corns reacted to the scent of the Kings as well, and it stressed them out. He finally just stuck with corns. The only snake that ever bit me was a king....

[CornCrazy]

On the other hand, my kings are great. The male used to rattle his tail on occasion, but doesn't now. I don't find that they are any more difficult than corns. I keep mine in the same room with my corns, and it has never been a problem.

[Chip]

Yep, kings are a slighly different breed when accustomed to corn behavior. But I must say there are as many types of Lampropetltis as Pantherophis, with just as many differently tempered species. For example, Texas rats are little bastards. I've seen one tame one out of scores I've dealt with. They are the same genus as corns. Likewise, black rats and some yellows are high strung, whereas corns and trans-pecos are often almost docile when caught in the wild. Many milks are flighty but never bite, the big Costa Rican black milks are usually dog tame. But one thing all the kings have in common is a love for food! Some will give you a "test bite" just to see if you are edible! Here's a 2003 gray band king, who couldn't eat his 5 pinkies one at a time!

[CornCrazy]

I will definitely agree about the "love for food" statement! My kings are voracious feeders.

Chip, that is a great picture and a beautiful gray band!

As for leucistics...we have a pair of them and the male is a demon. The female is a bit flighty, but doesn't try to bite.

Our milks are also flighty, but have never ever tried to bite.

[Chip]

That animal came from Lee Abbott is Sarasota. I have been thrilled with all of his animals and look forward to trading with him (corns for trans pecos) after hatching this year's "crop."

[Chip]

I would love to post some of my milks, but the file size is SLIGHTLY too big after shrinking. I can't recommend black milks enough to anyone interested in a large, calm snake. If they stayed tri-colored, there is no doubt they would be the most popular of all non-morph milks.
As for kings, stay away from desert and speckled as a general rule if you are shy about bites. Few milks are biters as a species that I've been around.
Likewise, my locality corns can be little pistols upon hatching. Sorry for posting this photo for at least a third time, but people seem to get a kick out of it. For the record, this guy seldom even rattles now, and was the most bellicose hatchling I've ever run across (that wasn't a racer or something like that!).

[Skye]

what a great shot, also the one with all the pinkies! - thanks Chip!
Nice to have the descriptions of differing personalities too,

Skye

[MariaOrrom]

Hey does anyone else know if a corn is freeked out by a king being in the same room. When they said that I got really worried, cos I would hate my corn to get stressed by my new King. Hes so content now and lays up on the branch watching us all as we are walking about etc... Hes got really calm and relaxed with us. I would hate the King to upset him. I have a double stand with one viv at the bottom and the other on the top. We have a small house! At the mo' my corn is shedding so hes buried himself and I won't see him for a week or so, so its hard to know if hes being stressed or not. How will i know? OOOO I hope he doesn't!
:(
Maria

[MegF.]

I was the one who posted about the king upsetting the corns. I would guess if your corn's behavior changed, then you would assume he's stressed.

[Chip]

being a keeper of lots of both types. But it has happened on occasion that after handling a king or milk, other snakes are very jumpy. Make it a habit to use Isagel or similar hand sanitizers between each handling and you'll probably notice no change in behavior.

[MariaOrrom]

Thanks for that, I wasn't going to even handle them on the same day anyway, in case my new one had any bugs or germs!!
I so wanna keep my new king but if it was gonna stress my corn then I would have gone and swopped for another corn.
TA:D
Maria