Ink

[crimsonking]

just couldn't pass on posting one of my new nigrita hatchlings.
:Mark

[marisa]

!!!! Very VERY nice man!!! Wow so jet black. I love it. Great pic.

Marisa

[burmer]

Beautiful snake!!!! Thanks for the great pic.

[Ace]

GOTTA LOVE 'EM!!!

[jwsporty]

Can't wait for my Mexi's to arrive, should be here in 2-3 weeks..Great pic Mark

Jim

[vanderkm]

Very nice - was the whole clutch so completely black? Ours had quite a bit of white on the ventral side but have gotten more completely black with each shed. They are such great snakes - congrats on a really nice one,

mary v.

[Matt]

wow....lookin' good!

[crimsonking]

Mary, in my exp. many have some white along the sides at the ventral scales. It all fades to black quickly. If they have yellow dots, that usually takes longer or never really goes away completely. I have kept the "blackest" ones in the past and have a few without the signature white dots under the chin. Completely balck. Of course, they all eat right away and are no problems. I feel if more people knew about these guys, the demand would skyrocket. Smooth and shiny black glass.
:Mark

[KingJaff]

Originally posted by vanderkm
Very nice - was the whole clutch so completely black? Ours had quite a bit of white on the ventral side

Your thinking of L.g.Nigra, which retains more yellow then the mexican kingsnake L.g nigrita>(

[crimsonking]

I doubt she's thinking of nigra. Nigrita also have white and/or yellow and sometimes a faint pattern when they hatch. Maybe from splendida influence. Breeders have selectively bred for a more completely black animal in recent years. Anyway, in the wild, finding a completely balck nigrita would be difficult I believe. Not too many nigra breeders out there these days and I'm sure she has nigrita as they are much more popular and abundant in the hobby. If you look closely at the pic above, you can see some of the white/light coloring along his side at the belly.
:Mark

[vanderkm]

Mark is right - ours is definately nigrita - and he doesn't have many white scales now that he is mature, but had quite a bit as a youngster - took about 8 months from when we got him before it had mostly converted to black. I agree totally that these are great snakes - have heard of some that are quite aggressive, but also heard the opposite that they are one of the most dependably gentle of the kings - and ours certainly fits with that - very calm personality.

mary v.

[CDN-Cresties]

Beautiful snake, i love the dark black

-Steve-