black mexican?

[Gravelanche]

Im really interested in a black mexican king snake, im just enthralled by that jet black color and from what i have read they are relatively plesant and not too difficult to care for. Does anyone have experience with this snake and what are your thoughts / tips.

again, just doing some research at this stage.

[Squirtle]

They were actually one of the first snake I've held, their color and gentleness is what made me interested in snakes. I'd assume that you care for them the same way you care for kingsnakes and corns.

[KORBIN5895]

I'm pretty sure they require lower heat.

[bcr226]

We have one. Now, bear in mind that what I'm about to relay to you is my experience with one sample of the species.

Ours is very laid back and gentle. She's never tried to strike or show any aggression at all. She's a healthy eater.

She's still young but she's a great snake and loves to be held. Even when she's in shed, we can handle her without any concern of bites. She doesn't squirm and is very curious.

One of the coolest colubrids we have.

http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/efillc/Snakes/IMG_0514.jpg

[Jlassiter]

Korbin....no snake requires a "lower temp"
They all require a thermal gradient to choose from....

L. g. nigrita are great captives.
Some are bitey though.....

[Terranaut]

Lol your both correct. All snakes need a gradient to adjust their body temps but I think Korbin means the hot end of the gradient doesn't need to be as high as lets say a royal or a boa being it's not a tropical snake.

[Gravelanche]

for anyone who didnt notice in the other post, i got my black king

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/578971_10151328692126239_1806878017_n.jpg

full of energy but hasnt tried to nip yet. ate his first meal today

[stephanbakir]

Stunner :) I've been bouncing back and forth between an MBK and an Indigo for a few years, never settled one so I haven't made the move... one day maybe :)

[Terranaut]

Well now I would go for the indigo. I got to finally hold one last summer. Awesome!
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-1913.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/terranaut0/photo-2259.jpg

[KORBIN5895]

Korbin....no snake requires a "lower temp"
They all require a thermal gradient to choose from....

L. g. nigrita are great captives.
Some are bitey though.....

I was under the impression that bmk were more sensitive to higher temps. What temp is recommended for a hot end?

[brianm616]

85-90 should work well.

[Jlassiter]

Yes....I keep all of my colubrids at room temp....72F or so and I have a hot end near 85F to 90F......choices!

[KORBIN5895]

Yes....I keep all of my colubrids at room temp....72F or so and I have a hot end near 85F to 90F......choices!

Thanks for the clarification. I thought 85°f-90°f was too hot for mbk.

[slowhite03]

Terranaut- is something wrong with his face? ive never seen one with an almost complete brown face

mine was definitely not docile, snappy little of thing

[Corey209]

Terranaut- is something wrong with his face? ive never seen one with an almost complete brown face

mine was definitely not docile, snappy little of thing

That's an indigo not a MBK

[valid]

The one Terranaut is holding is an Indigo snake not a Mexican black king.
They are different species.
No Mexican black kings will not have a brown face-
Though not all Indigo snakes have brown face either, they can be all black as well.
The two are very commonly confused.

[Terranaut]

You can buy 10 mbks fot the price of 1 indigo.