What kind is this?

I acquired a king snake about 5 years ago and I really don't know what type he is. I was told when i got him that he was a variegated or variable king. So I left it at that. In the past few months I have been interested in doing some breeding, so I have been trying to find another king like him. I cannot find anything close to what he looks like. He is black, white, and red banded. The bands go all the way around except for the black and white belly scales. He kinda looks like an arizona or scarlet king, but not quite.

Ok, so my pic didn't post. He is in my gallery here on the site if you would like to get a look at him.

ok, I think it will show up now.

I think one way to tell (someone correct me if I'm wrong) in this specific phase is the background color, if it's more gray than white, then it's a variable king.

Here's a link to more info on these:

http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/thayeri.htm

Looks like a ruthveni x thayeri cross to me.....There is no sure way to tell unless you have full lineage history though.

Yeah, I agree. Looks pretty much like a ruthveni x thayeri cross to me too.......that desparately needs a waterbowl change!!!

I am aware of the water bowl. we were just about to change his water cause he just pooed in it when my gf decided to take the pic. Thank you for the input on what you think he is.

Originally Posted by TheFragginDragon

I think one way to tell (someone correct me if I'm wrong) in this specific phase is the background color, if it's more gray than white, then it's a variable king.

Here's a link to more info on these:

http://www.applegatereptiles.com/species/thayeri.htm

He started out with very even, crisp, and clean red, white, and black bands. As he grew, his bands changed and the white turned light grey.

Originally Posted by thaspyder69

He started out with very even, crisp, and clean red, white, and black bands. As he grew, his bands changed and the white turned light grey.

Yes, that can be very typical of many types. What J. Lassiter and I are both saying though is it is definitely not a pure thayeri, but rather a man-made cross involving thayeri. The real question is to what?. And from our many years of Lampropeltis experience of all types, it's phenotypic characteristics "look" to best represent probably be a ruthveni x thayeri cross. It is definitely a cross however.


best regards, ~Doug

Looks like a San Luis Potosi Mex-Mex to me.