kingsnake!what are the odds

[akuma]

I think this is the right place to post this
Ok so 6 days ago my 3 year old was hanging out in the back yard as he usually does keeping an eye out for our 3 dragons as he feeds his birds,so anyways he runs in the house and he says dad there is a snake in the backyard,and i look at him and im like woow really all fake excited i mean cmon hes 3 u know,cause well we dont have snakes here in this neighborhood we have a bunch of aligator lizards and some fence lizards that like to hangout in the backyard not so much since he lets his birds roam around the yard they like to chase them around.we did find snake shed when we first moved in here like 3 years ago but figured pet or something.Anyway i went out and there it was a stinking king snake along side the fence,So he says can i grab it i said sure so we slowly got closer to it,and it didnt flip out or dash away,so i picked it up and it was nice and fat so figured must have just eaten aligator lizard or something,so i brought it in and figured it must be someones pet that got out or escaped dont know cause def not wild this thing is like 3+feet long so no way this thing is wild and still alive, here in this neighborhood there is possums and cats and dogs,i mean no way its wild what the heck would it eat anyways i put it in a container till i pulled out a 20 gal tank to put it in ,2 days ago we pulled it out to change the news paper lifted the hide box and:laugh:there is eggs what the ill post up some pics later today. (sorry if this ad thing is in the place)
BTW:no one has looked or asked about the snake i have asked my neighbors and they are like what in your backyard oh nonono like its a disease or something crazy ppl.

 

[akuma]

here are some pics

 

[~Just Curious~]

Wow! Very cool! 'Tis the season, but it's still some luck finding a gravid one like that. That's real nice looking too, I believe the yellow/brown ones are coastals.
However~

... we dont have snakes here in this neighborhood ... we did find snake shed when we first moved in here like 3 years ago but figured pet or something. ... figured it must be someones pet that got out or escaped dont know cause def not wild this thing is like 3+feet long so no way this thing is wild and still alive, here in this neighborhood there is possums and cats and dogs,i mean no way its wild what the heck would it eat anyways ... BTW:no one has looked or asked about the snake i have asked my neighbors and they are like what in your backyard oh nonono like its a disease or something crazy ppl.

I live in Orange County too and we do have wild cal kings. They're coming out right now so they're actually fairly common. I'm sure you don't often see them in your neighborhood, but they're not too far away and probably drift in from time to time.

Animal control will redirect reptile calls to our local snake removal team, I'm not a volunteer for that (They're more after people in San Bernardino and Riverside) but the herp association & rescue I'm a member of often meets up with them. Just last week they removed these two (In addition to seven rattlers, a night snake, and three gophers) from residential areas.

So we certainly do have some snakes here. I'm betting your gal is also wild, looks like she has some healed marks on her so I'm thinking she must have survived nature (or cats and dogs anyways) for some time. I wouldn't worry.
But anyways, congrats on your find and good luck with the eggs~

P.S. Your son's so cute!!! I love how he reacted to finding a snake! <3

 

[akuma]

Well i guess that would mean there is more around here .If she is wild and just strolled over here ,the nearest place where u can actually see kings pines or gophers is about 3 miles from where i live, so this little gal here traveled quite aways,unless its an escapee or if someone released it,everyone that i asked had a look i just laughed,but anyhow she was a nice find and dropped us a surprise.i have a question tho do i release her back outside or place her over where i seen them or do i or (can)i keep her something about laws and native species right.also what about the eggs if they hatch what can i do with them??.
thanks

p.s. thanks i agree he is cute little dude

 

[~Just Curious~]

Personally I recommend that you release her back into the wild, but that's just me. This is more for other species than hardy kings, but some don't take to the change well and it can be very stressful. I don't typically support keeping wild animals for no special reason when you can legally purchase a captive bred one for cheap. *shrug* Plus I think it can be a good lesson for your son about doing what's best to take care of wildlife~

I'd keep her comfortable, try to cut down on stress, and if she seriously needs some fattening up again after laying or if she has any wounds - basically if she's in real danger of not doing well when released - I'd keep her just long enough to make her better. Otherwise I'd release her as soon as possible. I don't know if any of those pics were taken after she laid, but she looks pretty good to me. If so then she'd probably be fine~
I'd let her go in that area where you usually see them, there's probably everything they need there, and I'd pick a place with lots of cover. It's the policy of the snake removal team to release them at least 15 miles from people, but I can see how that's not possible for you without some serious driving. Either way I just wouldn't want to release her back into your yard because of all the cats and not-so-nice people she might encounter in a residential area. Her luck might not hold out.

Legally I don't believe you can take any animals from the wild without a permit. (Except for rattlesnakes, fairly sure their limit is two) I believe you need a sportfishing license. The Department of Fish & Game says "Any person who is 16 years of age or older must possess a valid sport fishing license when taking any fish, shell fish, reptile, or amphibian in California." Also the limit on common kings is listed as four, so I think that's how many wild ones you can posses with a permit.

You can get a permit online here http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/ols/
Here's some reptile regulations that apply http://www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations/FreshFish-Mar2012/ccr-t14-ch2-art4-sec5_60.html
Here's the complete PDF http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=35207&inline=true
and here's a good website http://www.californiaherps.com/info/herpinglaws.html

Notably in the PDF it said
"(d) Progeny resulting from pregnant native reptiles or amphibians collected from the wild must be transferred to another person or to a scientific or educational institution within 45 days of birth or hatching. Persons receiving such progeny shall comply with the bag and possession limits specified in sections 5.05 and 5.60.
(e) Reptiles or amphibians which have been in captivity, including wild-caught and captively-bred individuals or offspring, shall not be released into the wild without the written approval of the department."
I imagine that's because our animals in captivity might be in contact with exotic species and could transfer foreign diseases back into the wild population, but... That's a law that a lot of people would unknowingly break. Both of them probably. Generally I would expect a person to incubate the eggs and then probably sell them. It did say cal kings could be sold for commercial purposes. *head scratch* Sorry, I don't get laws. But I do aways recommend following them, I'd read through those pages I gave you and do your best~

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[RossCA]

Wow, what are the odds of finding a gravid female like that in your back yard. That is so cool. You'd be surprised where this species can still hang on after development has surrounded the area. The odds are that it does live near by since its gravid, but it could have been an escaped pet. But I'm pretty sure that snake is native to the area. If you hatch the eggs it will be interesting to see if you get any Newport phase in the clutch. Those have a stripe down the back instead of bands. Cool find.

 

[akuma]

after asking people all around the place, and i put up a couple of fliers around but nothing people are not to fond of any reptile around here.so if shes been living here she has been lucky lots of cats and dogs and opossums,Ive caught them trying to get in to sons quail cage,im thinking someone caught it and escaped or just let it go Anyway I been fattening her up a little bit she looked real thin after the eggs and i didn't want to just let her go like that, who knows when she would get her next meal, so she will be on her way back to the wild later on today i would really like to keep her but could u imagine living in a small tank after living free, terrible terrible.
i agree with ~Just Curious~ i as well don't see the keeping of wild animals for no special reason when you can buy one for cheap
ill post some pics when we let her go

 

[wsumike87]

Costa Mesa is beautiful! I agree its hard to give up freedom once you have tasted it. What do you plan on doing with the babies? Hope it all turns out well.

 

[akuma]

baby king

so its been a while since these little guys left,but glad to say that they all hatched, The mom was released after she had a few meals and appeared fat healthy and strong .The babies were released after they had their first shed and some tasty pinks,well almost all of them we actually kept 1 we kept the runt or the smallest one of the clutch.
Here are a few pics of the baby,
also i lost or i should say misplaced my camera's SD card that has all of the egg,hatching ,and first meal pix,so when i find it i will post them up.

 

[fd_hdz]

thats is awesome!! your son looks really happy with the baby snake. Good thing you let them go, that was a very important lesson for him.