Durango Mountain king pics

[vanderkm]

Another new addition from Reptile Gallery, Edmonton - thanks to Quentin - cuz we just love this one. This Durango mountain king has quite the personality - always on top of the hide pot surveying the territory and cruising around checking out every inch of the tank. Absolutely beautiful snake - great to be handled, totally confident and a joy to have around - always out whenever we come into the room, looking out to see what is going on and whether it is time to come out yet. This snake will be a favorite of every educational opportunity that we participate in. Just had to share some pictures -

Mary v.

[Colin Friesen]

Nice lookin king!

[garterguy]

awesome king

[McPatch]

Very nice Mary.Where is this Reptile Gallery located.I would like to take a look when I'm up in Edmonton in a couple of weeks.Thxs
Darren

[vanderkm]

Hi Darren,

Long time since you have posted - glad to see you back. Reptile Gallery is in North Edmonton, on Groat Road, and you don't want to miss going there if you are in Edmonton. Quentin, the owner, is on Ssnakess (as ReptileGallery I think) so you might want to PM him for more info or pm or e-mail me for a phone number and directions. Hours are variable, so you need to phone first. Wonderful collection of herps - albino boas that had me drooling, lots of other boa morphs, rosy boas, amazon tree boas, carpet pythons, tons to see,

mary v.

[McPatch]

Mary
Thanks.I'm origanally from Edmonton so I'm up there all the time.Quentin already pm'd me with the address and phone #.I definatly will be cheking his shop out.
Darren

[Tara Garratt]

Mary,
That is another beautifil snake! Your familly is just growing in leaps and bounds. The colour contrast is amazing and it sounds like the attitude is wonderful. I hope you decide to get another and breed them.

Tara Garratt

[kansaskingsnake]

I was just wondering what kind of bedding that is you have in those pics of your durango mt king cause ive been using pine but ive read that it is poisonus just like cedar so i bought a bag of that carefresh stuff but it is a little expensive i like the look of that bedding and i was just wondering what kind it is. thx

[Tim_Cranwill]

David, that looks like aspen to me. You are right a bout pine though. Some say it is fine and others say it isn't. I like to play it safe.

Mary, great looking Durango! There are so many kings I want. It's going to get crazy around here!

[vanderkm]

This is shredded aspen - more expensive than pine but still a good deal. We were using large flake aspen for a while because it is cheaper, but it is a lot less absorbant than the shredded aspen. We use it for all our colubrids and it is nice because it packs down enough not to float into the water dishes but they can burrow in it, it is easy to spot clean and I like the look of it.

Tim - I really like this Durango - this group of kings is one of the nicest in my experience - we have a san luis patosis and a nuevous leon as well and they are so pretty, so calm to handle, such great feeders, don't need high humidity and so reluctant to bite or musk that I cannot believe they aren't more popular. I can't say enough good things about these guys - I had debated selling one of mine but am now going to keep them and am looking for a melanistic. You can never have too many of the nice species!


mary v.

[marylyn101]

Is the colour man mutanted or is it natural

[vanderkm]

Hi Marylyn,

I believe the color in the Durango is typical of wild varieties - there is a lot of variation in these kings and the closely related ones (san luis potosis and variable kingsnake) and the band thickness varies, as well as the background color (from peach color to dark grey). Some look like milksnakes with three color bands and there are black versions. I don't know if there are albinos in these lines or any particular breeding for specific color - you can get a lot of variation without selecting for specific varieties. They resemble grey-banded kings which is a natural pattern too.

mary v.