Kingsnake temperament

[Brandon Osborne]

Over the years I've kept large numbers of every ssp of common king. There are some I would recommend over others.

Cal kings: in my experience, they musked more often than any other kingsnake. Albinos always seemed prone to biting without any warning, and the normals which were not as bad did the same thing occasionally.

Desert (splendida): Usually very calm with little problems. Some musking occasionally.

Mex. Black (nigrita): Could be flighty until they got a little size on them. Some musking occasionally.

Speckled (holbrooki): Very small hatchlings. Can be somewhat flighty if not handled often.

Black (nigra): Very calm. I've picked these up in the wild with zero restraint. No biting, no musking, no flightyness. Only downfall is the least attractive of the kings.

Eastern (getula): Calm, easty to handle. Babies can be difficult to start. Start with an animal that has a little size and is guaranteed to eat rodents. Can reach very large size.

Blotched/Goini (meansi/goini/getula): Usually very calm with the exception of feeding time. Can also reach very large size.

Florida/Brooksi (floridana/brooksi/getula): My favorite of all. Very easy to handle. Feeds well, but watch out. They love to eat. Never experienced one that musked or one being flighty.

With this said, I would recommend a yearling or older grayband over any of these. Grayband are one of the most non-offensive snakes I've ever dealt with. They just don't have a means streak in them unless you are a mouse or a lizard. Similar in temperment are Sinaloan milksnakes. Very very calm and easy to handle.

Good luck.

[Hypnotic Exotic]

I've had California, Speckled and Prairies and all three species (and I had three of each) were flighty, nippy, musky, you name it. I'm sure there are exceptions but I'm definitely not a fan of them myself.

[green_man]

I definitely agree with Brandon. I have two greybands and have owned others in the past and they have a great temperament. I've never been musked by one and the only time I've ever had one strike at me is when I startled my big male.

Good luck choosing!

[collrak]

Over the years I've kept large numbers of every ssp of common king. There are some I would recommend over others.

Cal kings: in my experience, they musked more often than any other kingsnake. Albinos always seemed prone to biting without any warning, and the normals which were not as bad did the same thing occasionally.

Desert (splendida): Usually very calm with little problems. Some musking occasionally.

Mex. Black (nigrita): Could be flighty until they got a little size on them. Some musking occasionally.

Speckled (holbrooki): Very small hatchlings. Can be somewhat flighty if not handled often.

Black (nigra): Very calm. I've picked these up in the wild with zero restraint. No biting, no musking, no flightyness. Only downfall is the least attractive of the kings.

Eastern (getula): Calm, easty to handle. Babies can be difficult to start. Start with an animal that has a little size and is guaranteed to eat rodents. Can reach very large size.

Blotched/Goini (meansi/goini/getula): Usually very calm with the exception of feeding time. Can also reach very large size.

Florida/Brooksi (floridana/brooksi/getula): My favorite of all. Very easy to handle. Feeds well, but watch out. They love to eat. Never experienced one that musked or one being flighty.

With this said, I would recommend a yearling or older grayband over any of these. Grayband are one of the most non-offensive snakes I've ever dealt with. They just don't have a means streak in them unless you are a mouse or a lizard. Similar in temperment are Sinaloan milksnakes. Very very calm and easy to handle.

Good luck.

Wow, thank you very much for the detailed response. I was actually looking at a Brooksi as my first kingsnake. Good to know that someone has had good experiences with them.

[Brandon Osborne]

Wow, thank you very much for the detailed response. I was actually looking at a Brooksi as my first kingsnake. Good to know that someone has had good experiences with them.

Babies can be defensive but grow out of the fight response very quickly. They can grow very large and make great pets. I've had a few animals near 6'. My collection of brooksi at one point was around 50 adults.lol. They are definitely my favorite kings.
One of my White Phase


Yearling Sulfur


Yearling Lavender Sulfur


Big Whitie. My original White phase hatched in 1993. RIP.


Adult Sulfur


Adult Sulfur by far the best yellow brooksi I've ever seen.


Can't go wrong with any of them.
Enjoy

[collrak]

Babies can be defensive but grow out of the fight response very quickly. They can grow very large and make great pets. I've had a few animals near 6'. My collection of brooksi at one point was around 50 adults.lol. They are definitely my favorite kings.

Can't go wrong with any of them.
Enjoy

Yeah, i expect some nippiness and musking when they're little, but hopefully they'll calm down after enough consistent handling. I'm glad to learn that they can grow close to 6'.

From what i've seen so far, i like the Sulfur (high-yellow) and Flame Hypo (reddish/orange) morphs. Do you recommend any particular breeders? So far, i found one breeder that has really nice high-yellow morphs: http://serpentinespecialties.webs.com/

I like the distribution of white and black pattern in your white phase snakes. The yellow pattern in your sulphur is really solid, and nice.

[smoffler]

Hondurans and Pueblans are very flighty if not handled a bit. They are not prone to biting but do love to take off and musk.

I work with the adult Colubrids at BHB and they are the only specie in that room to not bite me

I object that state ment on pueblans... I had an albino hypo tangerien and that thing was Satan. All it did was bite and bite and yes bite, I've heard from numerous people the same thing about thiers also imo



Sent from my DROIDX

[Brandon Osborne]

Doug is a good guy. You can't go wrong with him.

Yeah, i expect some nippiness and musking when they're little, but hopefully they'll calm down after enough consistent handling. I'm glad to learn that they can grow close to 6'.

From what i've seen so far, i like the Sulfur (high-yellow) and Flame Hypo (reddish/orange) morphs. Do you recommend any particular breeders? So far, i found one breeder that has really nice high-yellow morphs: http://serpentinespecialties.webs.com/

I like the distribution of white and black pattern in your white phase snakes. The yellow pattern in your sulphur is really solid, and nice.

[IndySnake]

I got my first Cal King in August, he's a year old Hypo Lavender Albino Ruby Eyed and at first he was real skittish, musked all the time, tail going crazy and was bitey but I just slowly worked with him, only holding him for 10 mins every other day for about 2 weeks and now he's GREAT! I can pick him up with no problems at all. I've came to really enjoy King snakes from having him and would recommend them to anybody!

[shotgun]

Hi, just wondering if there is a type of kingsnake that is generally more docile than others. Thanks!

I have had many different types of kings and my favorite has been the Black and White banded Cal. King. I have had several of these and have never had one act aggressive towards me at all. Very good snake for starters and beginners.