WANTED: Field collector in SoCal!
 

I am looking for a herper/field collector in the Southern California area -- San Diego, Orange County, Carlsbad, etc. -- that can track down and obtain a specific locale of California kingsnake for me. I do realize it is winter and they are all brumating, but when the spring comes around and they begin waking up, I would like to try to start searching for my project animals. I have been on a fruitless search for striped coastal phase Cali kings, which are the chocolate brown and yellow variety. I'm just not finding any on the market whatsoever -- not even banded coastals. I used to have a rare pure Carlsbad coastal pair with perfect stripes, and unfortunately lost them when I lost my collection a few years ago. This was the pair I had:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...es/2007-77.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...es/2007-78.jpg

The chocolate and yellow variety are mostly found in coastal areas and areas with more vegetation, but can be found occasionally in sandy/rocky areas. Coastals are not as common out there as desert phases (black/white and black/cream), and are apparently not that common in the hobby as I guess there is less demand for them. But I have always liked them and I'm hoping to get lucky in finding a few. Here are a few more pics of what I am looking for:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...astalKing5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...4-23-08022.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...astalKing8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...astalKing4.jpg

I am looking for both genders, any ages/sizes. The striping does not have to be unbroken, and doesn't have to run the whole length of the body. Abberant is OK, just prefer if at least half of it is striped. The cleaner the sides are, the better (like in the pics). I may potentially be interested in a banded animal if it has rich chocolate coloring with bright lemon yellow markings. I also may be interested in a black animal if it too has bright lemon yellow markings (striped only in this case, no bandeds). No off-whites or creams, yellow markings only. If you are interested in doing this scout work, I will compensate you for your time and cover all shipping expenses. If you can manage to track down a really nice specimen or even a Carlsbad locale like the ones I used to have above, I will DEFINITELY provide appropriate compensation. If interested, please reply here, PM me, or e-mail me at jennifer.harrison@hotmail.com . Thanks!

It is illegal to capture and sell California Kings in Ca.

Anyone who does so is poaching and anyone who buys them is smuggling as well as poaching.

Wow. I didn't know that. I guess that nixes that.

But then I have to ask, where do all these other people get coastals, deserts, lavendars, blue-eyed blondes, hypos, chocolates, stripes, wide stripes, bananas, Carlsbad and San Diego locales, etc? All the founding animals for these variations were captured in the wild. I know at least 2 people that have specific locales that no one else has, and neither live in California.

they probably lie and say they were captive bred

Or collected before the laws were in place.

You can get a permit from California F&G to captive breed and sell native reptiles. So in order to do this, you'd need to have a fish and game license to capture the original pair (you can only have two of any one species) then get the separate permit to breed and sell the offspring. It's not too hard, just make sure that you're doing everything legally.

Typical. Everyone knocking on the illegal laws. Look up there state laws and look for the allowed bag limit by species. Email fish and game and see if they will permit you or the collector to sell the species in a small number to produce captive animals. Most will allow it for a small permit fee. There is always a loop hole.

For the ones your looking for you would have to go north of San Diego and Carlsbad. Costal San Diego and San Clementy (this includes Carlsbad) are currently not allowed to be collected even with a permit. The only exception are resurch permits that must be gained through a university for the purpose of studying wild snakes. The permit laws on collecting them now state snakes in the San Diego county of the kingsnake varity may not be collected west of the I-5. Its unlikly to find them east of the I-5 as you move away fom the coast variety.

Oh PS i live out in the Borrago Desert and often go herping in the summer. If there is any high desert variety you're looking for let me know and i will keep an eye out.

No, you are thinking about the CA Mountain kingsnake not the CA kingsnake. CA kingsnakes can be collected in all the areas you mention. This thread is full of misinformation.