Kingsnake

[TheBoogieDown]

Hey guys! This is my roommates king snake. It's name is Beast Mode. Anyways, I had labeled him, earlier, as a Mexican Black Kingsnake (as that was what the pet store we bought him at called him). But as I was reading and researching I noticed that all the pictures I saw of them, they were all jet black. This little feller has got some very stunning gold bands around him (they are very hard, and I had to look through a ton of pictures I took to get the one that really brought them out.) My questions are: are all Mexican Black Kings fully black? If so, what kind of Kingsnake is he? Thanks guys, and I hope you enjoy this picture.

[Jlassiter]

He is a "b grade" Mexican Black king.
The ones that are predominantly in the hobby have been line bred to be totally black.
Those totally black ones are most sought after.
In one clutch there are sometimes a few with remnant "desert king" pattern.
Most breeders wholesale them off......

Some believe MBKs are nothing more than hypermelanistic or melanistic Desert Kings.

They come from an area of Arizona (Tucson/Green Valley, etc) that is a convergence of California, Desert and Mexican Black Kings.

[TheBoogieDown]

He is an A in my book haha! But I'm biased on that statement. I kind of like the black kingsnake, but I definitely love those gold bands on him.

[Jlassiter]

Then you'll love these.....maybe.....lol.

Desert Kings (L. getula splendida)

[TheBoogieDown]

I love the little yellow splotches on their faces!

[rmfsnakes32]

I love this snakes color and pattern