Can't decide on my next snake...

[Rollis]

Okay so, I posted a thread similar to this a while back. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up not getting a new snake at that time. However, things have returned to normal and it is once again time to think about a new snake. I absolutely love kings and milks, and there's where the problem comes in -- I can't decide which to get! So I am reaching out to my fellow Colubrid lovers for some advice and suggestions. Here's what I know for sure:

- On a slight budget, so price range is ~100 bucks for the snake. I have all the supplies and the tank ready to go
- Not a cal king or corn snake, as I have both already
- Prefer Milks or Kings, not really into Rat/Bull/Pine etc.

So far my thoughts are Brooks, Goini, or Pueblan Milk, but I won't completely rule out something different. I mainly just want it to look different visually from what I already have. I've never had a milk before, but I hear they're flighty as youngsters, which concerns me a little. Also, is there any main personality/behavior difference between different king species? I'd like to be able to handle it from time to time. I know all kings can be nippy, since they assume everything on the planet is food, but I meant more mean-streak wise.

[Mft62485]

I went with a milksnake only because I have one, and have never worked with the others listed. As you mentioned, yes he is very flighty.

[liv]

What about a hognose? Mine isn't very flighty at all, he just explores my hand. Plus, they have the cutest little noses

[Pyrate81]

I don't know a lot of the morphs on kings and milks. To be fair whatever I say here is from experience, things I've heard, or assume. I'm sure others have 1000x more xp than I do with milks/kings.

Kings: I have a Cali king and Tangerine milksnake myself. The cali king is like you said, nippy(mine is only when he is hungry).
Him and I were at a local Petsmart this evening handing out some education to people. He was loving the attention and environment. I would assume that most kingsnakes have similar temperaments and not have negative attitudes(someone please correct me if I'm wrong). Have seen more kingsnake morphs from pictures than real life and off the top of my head the Brooksi is nice along with the Florida kingsnake. If I recall though, they are similar.

Milks: (again my experience, I'm sure most people can give more/better feedback than me) I heard have more a negative temperament. My experience and the people I've encountered says this is true. They are great to have but need a little more time to help calm down. Blackjack(my milk) is a great looking snake and I took him in because I felt bad for him cause the people at the pet store didn't want to handle him at all(I think he was neglected) I would definitely get another milk and would recommend an apricot pueblan or albino pueblan milksnake because I think they look really nice and those are all I've encountered.

There was someone who posted baby milk pics to the forums today, if I find the thread I'll link it.

Hope this helps.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah, here ya go these babies look wicked awesome:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...hing-different

This was in the milk section.

My vote is Apricot Pueblan. They have a band of orange mixed in with the red and black and they are under $80 I think.

[PyramidPythons]

I had to go with the MBK, but only because I want one of those SO bad. I have a little Sinaloan Milk that I absolutely adore. She has never been flighty or bitey and is a curious and friendly little girl. If I were to have to pick something other than the MBK, I would go with the Thayeri kings, as I absolutely love their coloring and overall patterns. I'm more partial to the buckskin colored ones, myself, but I just love that style overall. Whatever you choose to go with, best of luck with it and enjoy! Can't wait to see new pics.

[Rollis]

Thanks for all the feedback so far, it is much appreciated!

I was sort of leaning towards an apricot pueblan, but I love all of them so it's hard to decide!

I didn't add Hognose to the list because, frankly, I have 0 experience with them and don't know a lot about them. They're cool looking snakes, but I've heard they can be aggressive or defensive and don't really take to handling like the others would. I could be completely wrong about this though, so feel free to correct me!

[Pyrate81]

Decisions decisions.

[KevinK]

It seems that you want to stick to a colubrid. You also seem like you have a good collection of them. Have you ever considered a larger constrictor? There's plenty of adult RTB's in rescues .

If you wanted to stick to a colubrid I would suggest an Albino King Rat

[Rollis]

I really like RTBs, but the problem is I just don't have the space to properly house a larger snake right now, and I wouldn't want to keep it in subpar conditions. It;s also why Ive sort of shyed away from getting a bp

[Andrew21]

Hognose! I want one really bad!