WANTED: Field collector in SoCal!

Originally Posted by JenHarrison

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.

The way they do it legally is by getting a breeders permit so they can legally sell the offspring from their wild caught snakes. And just so that you know, the coastal variety is much more common than the desert variety because the coastal habitat is more favorable for CA kingsnakes. The desert phase blk & wht is more common in captivity because most people prefer blk & wht over yellow & brown. Look for a guy named Shannon Brown. He sells different locales of CA kingsnakes and might be able to help you if you are still looking.

I already contacted Shannon, he does not have this variation of coastal Cali king. I contacted Kerby Ross, who I originally bought my pair from, and he doesn't work with them anymore. I contacted someone else on another popular classifieds site that listed coastals for sale, but they are like Shannons and are cream and black, not the true coastal variety like what I want.

So thus far, I'm still SOL, and no luck in any field collecting offers either. I may be going out to San Diego in August and may just have to go herping myself and ship them home. :/

Bewarerly of shipping out of sate with wild caught animals unless you have the proper permits. And from what Cal Fish and Game locally has told me (I live is San Diego) it is not legal to collect coastly variety anymore. I was out for lizards not snakes when a warned told me this. You can "catch" and breed but the wild animals themselves can not be sold. Getting a permit right now for sipping and breeding takes a few weeks at lest with the latest budget cuts.

How would anyone know if the animals I were shipping were wild caught vs. captive bred? SYR protocols call for the box to be labeled with species name and common name, nothing about captivity status.

I will call my friend in LA and see if she can get a definitive answer on the legality of collecting these animals.

Originally Posted by JenHarrison

I already contacted Shannon, he does not have this variation of coastal Cali king. I contacted Kerby Ross, who I originally bought my pair from, and he doesn't work with them anymore. I contacted someone else on another popular classifieds site that listed coastals for sale, but they are like Shannons and are cream and black, not the true coastal variety like what I want.

So thus far, I'm still SOL, and no luck in any field collecting offers either. I may be going out to San Diego in August and may just have to go herping myself and ship them home. :/

Did you know most juvenile coastal Cal kings start off cream & black, then change to yellow and brown as adults?

In the locale lines I am looking for, they do not. They are bright lemon yellow and rich chocolate brown from the moment they hatch. The ones I had (pictured above) were hatchlings when those pics were taken, and all their siblings were identical. That is what I'm looking for.

Originally Posted by WolfPaw

Bewarerly of shipping out of sate with wild caught animals unless you have the proper permits. And from what Cal Fish and Game locally has told me (I live is San Diego) it is not legal to collect coastly variety anymore. I was out for lizards not snakes when a warned told me this. You can "catch" and breed but the wild animals themselves can not be sold. Getting a permit right now for sipping and breeding takes a few weeks at lest with the latest budget cuts.

You can't legally collect California "mountain" kingsnakes in San Diego but you can legally collect up to 4 Common California kingsnakes anywhere in CA with a fishing license. I guarantee you were giving false information about not being able to collect coastal brown and yellow Cal kings.

Originally Posted by JenHarrison

In the locale lines I am looking for, they do not. They are bright lemon yellow and rich chocolate brown from the moment they hatch. The ones I had (pictured above) were hatchlings when those pics were taken, and all their siblings were identical. That is what I'm looking for.

Yes, I know there are some that come out that way but most don't. If that's exactly what you are looking for, you will probably be looking for a long time. Too bad you don't live here, I could take you to go find them but not in August. They are not out during that month.

I don't mind waiting for the perfect snakes. I want a pair like what I had, so it's worth waiting for.

If I see any adds with stripers like that, I'll let you know.