Could it POSSIBLY be an Eastern King?

Well this snake was sold to me as an Eastern Chain King... I didn't think it was one, but hubby liked its pattern.

It's a desert kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula splendida .

So if I went and got a female splendida for him, I wouldn't have to worry about hybridization/integrading? Just want to be sure.

Splendida/Cal King integrades are often referred to as "Yuma" kings yes? just curious.

So should I be freaked that I was sold an "Eastern Chain King" that was actually a Splendida? I didn't really spend "Money" as I traded mice for him.

Oh goodness! You're going to have black and white snakes up to your eyeballs!

Originally posted by Sasheena
So if I went and got a female splendida for him, I wouldn't have to worry about hybridization/integrading? Just want to be sure.

Splendida/Cal King integrades are often referred to as "Yuma" kings yes? just curious.

So should I be freaked that I was sold an "Eastern Chain King" that was actually a Splendida? I didn't really spend "Money" as I traded mice for him.

Well, barring the possibility that this snake is a hybrid, yes you can get a mate splendida and breed them without making intergrades.
The snake pictured doesn't appear to me to be a hybrid, but there's no real way of knowing, especially when the person you got it from didn't even know what it was exactly.
I would still say you are pretty safe producing splendida though.

"Yuma" kings were at one time a subspecies of their own, Lampropeltis getula yumensis, but are no longer recognized taxonomically. They are now considered to be a phase of the california king.
Although you will still see some people offering yumensis for sale from time to time.

I wouldn't worry about it being called an eastern. Probably just a case of them not knowing any better, or they got it as such themselves. It's not an eastern though, that's obvious.
They both are nice snakes in their own right, so you didn't lose or gain anything really in the trade, you just got something you weren't expecting.