Should I expect my grey-banded to have bands?

[metallisch]

Hi,

Bought a very young "Grey banded Kingsnake" from a local reptile show. The seller didn't have much information, because apparently he had bought it off a different breeder. They're very rare to come by where I am, and I've wanted one for a while because I love the grey/orange colorations of them.

Now, however, comparing my Greybanded to other juvies, they seem to have their bands AT birth. As you can see from the pictures, mine is completely slate colored with some tiny inclusions of orange just above the scutes.

Should I expect to have a true greybanded or will I just end up with a slate colored snake?

http://i.imgur.com/obk3WyS.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/88zkbnD.jpg

[slowhite03]

That's not a gray banded, don't know what it is but it's not that

[ckdavis9]

I think this is still a gray banded but it may be "faded" or "abherrant" such as the ones in these ads

kingsnake.com Classifieds: Gray Banded Kingsnakes: Aberrants: $250

kingsnake.com Classifieds: Gray Banded Kingsnake: CB 13 Female: Faded Pattern: $175

[Starbuck]

it looks like its about to shed; colors may pop a bit more afterwards... but i agree it doesnt look like a typical grey banded. could be some kind of reduced pattern morph or something, but youd think the seller would have at least known that :/

as an aside, i dont like to buy my herps from the folks at expos with dozens of snakes but only one or two of each species. This can mean they are sourcing their herps from many different people/places, and theres a much higher risk of a transmittable disease finding its way into your collection. Also, they dont typically know very much about that particular snake, such as what its eating, when it last ate, any health issues, what the parents/older sibs looked like, etc. Whenever possible i try to buy from the individual who produced the animal.

In any case, no matter what kind of snake you have, congrats on the new addition and best of luck

[smy_749]

It looks like a gray banded to me. Not all gray banded kingsnakes have bright orange bands. There are many different pattern variations of this species with different markings. And no, you won't be getting orange bands on him.