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Brook's King Snake Lampropeltis getula brooksi |
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Though now recognized by herpetologists as merely a color morph of the Florida king snake, the Brook's king is a still a favorite among herpetoculturists because of its beautiful yellow coloration. Adult Brook's kings have yellowish or white cross bands on a yellow and black speckled background. The nicest specimens are so heavily speckled in yellow that the background color is not apparent. The babies start out looking much different. They have yellow bands on a dark brown or black background. Many babies have red coloration in the bands, though this is usually lost with age. My specimens originate from southern Dade County. Much of my colony descends from animals collected years ago, though I have managed to add a few wild caught specimens over the years. AVAILABLE NOW Price for Captive Bred Babies: $35
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the Wild
The Miami Rim Rock and southern Everglades, a region of oolitic limestone, is the historic domain of brooksi. The king snake's coloration in this area is thought to be an adaptation to the light limestone background. As in other areas of Florida. the king snake population here has been greatly reduced. Several factors contributing to this reduction have been discussed, but the exact cause is still a mystery. One thing is for sure, finding a nice Brook's king specimen in the wild is now quite a challenge. Much of the founding stock for today's captive bred kings was collected in decades past along the canals that crisscross the area. The levies along the canals cut dry strips of land through the expansive marshlands. The snakes were found basking on the canal banks or out on the crawl when conditions were favorable, most commonly in the spring. The more clever collectors selectively placed artificial cover such as old carpets and boards in prime areas for king snakes. Brook's kings still turn up occasionally today, though it seems like most of them are found crossing roads, rather than by the traditional collecting techniques. On top of that, many specimens are average in looks and can hardly be distinguished from a typical Florida king snake from further north. Kings are much less commonly seem than the exotic Burmese python, which now shares the same habitat. I have seen a precious few specimens in many trips to south Florida in the last decade , but most herping trips to the area are fruitless for king snakes.
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