alterna phase....

[Clownfishie]

I'm leaning towards getting my first colubrid as my next addition, and I quite like the look of the alterna phase greybandeds (greybands? what's the correct way to say that... lol...) ... if anyone is keeping these, I'd love to see pics :D And if anyone is breeding them up here, or knows of someone who is, I'd really appreciate the info :)

Thanks guys!
Jen

[ReptileHQ]

Here is my female about 24 inches. Great snakes, the alterna phase are definitely up there as one of my favourite colubrids. I'm in the hunt for a nice male for this girl.....

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/509/1147greyband_004-med.jpg


Chris

[Clownfishie]

She's beautiful Chris! :D Hope you find a nice male for her... Where did you get her from?

[enso]

All greybands are Alterna...

[enso]

This is a Christmas Mountain Blairs.

[enso]

This is a Christmas Mountain Atlerna. But both are Lampropeltis Alterna.

[Clownfishie]

Thanks enso :) Beautiful pics...

[enso]

Just wanted to eliminate any possible confusion, but now I see it was unnecessary. An exellent choice for a first colubrid! Corn Snake fanatics are groaning I'm sure. Their small size, docile nature, and beauty are a few of the reasons I love Alterna. Just make sure that the neonate (if that's what you're looking for) is well established on unscented prey. May you become a colubrid fanatic... :)

[Clownfishie]

LOL -- no worries enso ;) I'm really leaning towards either an alterna phase greyband, or a mountain king... I'm sure that for either I'll be getting a neonate (as I've never really seen any adults for sale up here), and I'll make sure that it's eating unscented prey, thanks for the tip :)
I don't know about becoming a colubrid fanatic, but they're definitely growing on me! Hehe...

[enso]

Cool, looking at pyromelana pyromelana or pyromelana knoblochi for the mountain king?

[gonesnakee]

Hi Clownfishie thought I'd let you know that I have both Greybands & Mtns (knoblochi) currently available. I have lots of both that are well started on frozen/thawed (unscented) pinkies. Once they are established on food they make great starter snakes. Most of the greybands appear to be like the "Xmas Mtn" pic posted, but I don't have exact locales for the "diehard purists". They are all just "Calgary Locale" to me LOL Mark

[foman]

nice snakes.

[Clownfishie]

Thanks for the info Mark :) I'll keep you in mind... I think it's going to be a little while before I can afford anything else... lol. I'm still in debt to Jeff from my trip to his house last weekend... lol... and christmas is coming ;)

Enso -- I'm not too familiar with the different types of mountain kings -- you wouldn't happen to have pics (or know where I could see pics) of the different ones, would you?

[enso]

gonesnakee has some pics of two adult Knobs here - http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=225516#post225516

And crimsonking has a pic of a neonate pyro pyro here - http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28047

Very similar in apperance, I prefer the Knobs. Nice Knobs have thin black borders and are "cleaner" looking animals. Just my opinion.

[Clownfishie]

I think I like the Knobs better too :) They both look great though... I saw something called a Sierra Mountain King listed on one site -- Lampropeltis zonata multicincta ... Is that yet another type?

Given the choice between a mountain king and a greyband -- which would you go with? I like the looks of both of them, so I guess it'll come down to if there's any major care/temperament differences between the 2...

Thanks for all your help btw :)

[enso]

Yes, there are seven subspecies zonata. Most breeders you'll find that breed mountain kings breed knobs or pyro pyro. Even in the states finding a zonata breeder of any of the subspecies is few and far between.

[Clownfishie]

Oh yeah? Hmm... that's funny. These people actually have the zonata ones cheaper than the pyro pyros! They don't have the knobs though...

[gonesnakee]

The biggest difference between the GBs & the various Mtns is the size. The pic that is linked above to my MTNs is of an Adult breeding pair & the H2O dish they are on is approx. the size of a 1 lb butter container. The GBs grow to be slightly smaller than adult Corns. If space is a major thing the Mtns take up less of it & they will never need prey larger than hoppers, whereas the GBs will be eating adult mice once they are full grown & will require more space. Good Luck with what you decide & feel free to contact me with any questions. THX Mark I.

[Clownfishie]

Thanks Mark! They're both beautiful snakes -- if I decide to go with a Knoblochi I'll definitely drop you a line -- yours are just gorgeous!! :D

[crimsonking]

There are many choices of graybands and mtn. kings, with a wide range of variability for sure. Especially in the gray banded kings. I have some pics at www.crimsonking.funtigo.com of some of mine. Some pics are old, but you'll get the idea.
:Mark

[Clownfishie]

Thanks Mark! Man you've got some beautiful animals... Wish you lived up here instead of down there!