Need to know what the Darkest corn snake is!

[Argentra]

My BF's MBK is just not shaping up well, being a picky eater and not receptive to handling, and he wants to find it a better home and get a corn snake instead, since he knows they are nicer.

Here's the thing: He really wanted a solid black snake. Since kings aren't really hold-me snakes, and milks are only slightly better, a corn is the best bet...BUT they don't have any black corn snakes!
Can anyone tell me what the darkest corn snake is? We have a lavender, and he said if those came darker he would love it... Is there a corn with a lot of black in it?

If we can't find him a good snake for a pet, he might look into a chameleon.

[blackcrystal22]

Really dark bloodred?

Or, a dirty anerythristic? Stripe arnery?

I'm not sure.. some normals are really dark, but I don't think he's looking for a red color?

[Blue Apple Herps]

Probably your best bet is going to be an uber dark bloodred. Even the darkest anerys still have fairly light backgrounds.

If he really wants a dark snake, get another MBK from a reputable breeder. They're supposed to be good feeders and fairly handable. Maybe you just got unlucky and got a difficult one.

[littleindiangirl]

How old is his MBK? We have one, fairly young, and she is a doll. Likes nothing better than to be held, entwined in our fingers. She's a pig too.

[anendeloflorien]

I'd say your best bet would be to try and find a nice dark bloodred, or you could try and find an anery bloodred those do get pretty dark as they get older and usually have a nice dark diffused pattern on a dark red background. Here's a picture of my bloodred, he's pretty dark but I've seen them even darker.

[Aeries]

Well, Type A Anery's have black saddles on a grey black ground. I have also heard of and seen picture of the chocolate corn, which is about as close to a melanistic corn you can get, but I've never seen one for sale before.

Pewter's are silvery/grey corn, sort of like the blood reds.

You'd probably have an equally good chance with another king though. They are generally right up their with corns in care and being docile. Every once in a while you get your testy ones.

[Argentra]

Thanks for the replies, all!

The MBK is only about 4-5 months old, male, and I got him from Neil Golli. Neil said he was eating like a pig when he had him. I'm not sure if this could be a reason for his behavior now, but when he was shipped (mid September) he got out of his pillowcase and was loose in the box. He's been tail-rattlin, musk-sprayin, and not really eating much since then.

Ari has basically decided that he wants to find this little guy a new home with someone who can get him back on track, then get a chameleon. He's always loved them, he's getting rather tired of snakes , and I think I know enough about reptile care now to try keeping one. I've been reading up on them from many sources, on and off for many years and more so now, and I think the choice is between a veiled and a panther.

So, any advice on this?

[Blue Apple Herps]

I highly doubt that an escape like that would cause him to turn "cujo" and be a finicky eater. If the breeder says he was eating well, are you sure your temps are 100% correct, plenty of hides, etc? If all that is a-OK, then maybe he wasn't as strong of an eater as the breeder says he was...

As I said, a well established, healthy, strong feeding snake, shouldn't turn into a picky eater just because of an escape. My guess is either something is wrong with his set up, or you got a snake that wasn't very well established.