When we think of pet snakes that have morphs, the main ones that come to mind may be ball pythons, corn snakes, or even western hognoses. While they may not have as many, the California kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) does have some beautiful morphs, 10 of which we are going to talk about today! Below are a few photos of what a “normal”, or wild, California kingsnake looks like, and after that, we get into the morphs for this unique snake!
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Top 10 List – California Kingsnake Morphs
1. Albino California Kingsnake
Albinism is the result of cells that can’t produce melanin, which is the pigment needed to color skin, scales, eyes, and hair. Albino reptiles, like the kingsnake above, can still contain some yellow pigmentation. They also have pink eyes which are also a trait of albinism. All of these together create the beautiful snake seen above.
2. Hypermelanistic California Kingsnake
Hypermelanism is basically the opposite of albinism and is when an unusually high concentration of melanin occurs in the skin, plumage, or pelage of an animal, making it much darker than is usual. As you can see with the California kingsnake above, it is a lot darker than is usual and is missing a lot of the lighter coloration you often see.
3. Chocolate California Kingsnake
The chocolate morph for the California kingsnake is pretty self-explanatory. It makes the snake a beautiful chocolate color, with some snakes that have the morph being a full solid chocolate color.
4. Lavender Mosaic California Kingsnake
The lavender mosaic morph has two parts to it. The first is the amazing lavender color of the snake that replaces the usual blacks or dark brown of the normal snake, along with stark white markings. The mosaic part of the morph creates more or a random pattern to the white, instead of thick white bands that are usual for California kingsnakes.
5. Super High White California Kingsnake
The super high white California kingsnake morph, unsurprisingly, produces a very white snake. Even though the snake is lacking pigment, it doesn’t have the usual pink eyes that an albino animal would. Snakes with this morph tend to still have some black markings on their heads, as well as some speckles down the back of leftover black.
6. Light Phase Palomar Ghost California Kingsnake
The light phase palomar ghost morph is very fascinating to look at. The morph takes a regular palomar ghost, but makes the pattern even lighter, as well as reducing the number of markings on the snake’s head. A bunch of random light splotches and markings make up the pattern on the snake, which makes for an incredibly cool-looking snake!
7. Banana California Kingsnake
The banana morph is a classic morph for the California kingsnake. It is when the California kingsnake is high in yellow coloration, hence the name banana. Darker markings are still visible on the head and back of the snake, however, they are usually not banded like the “normal” coloration of a California king.
8. Blizzard California Kingsnake
The blizzard morph is absolutely stunning, producing a California kingsnake that has a very pale body, they are pinker as juveniles but often turn into a soft lavender as they age. It is unique as it is a mix of both albinism and hypermelanism at the same time. This morph is often also referred to as snow and arctic, not just blizzard.
9. Joker California Kingsnake
According to Southern California Kingsnakes: “In 2008 a breeder in France paired up a blizzard (hypermelanistic X albino) with a chocolate. It turns out the chocolate was het for albino. He got chocolates and blizzards in the clutch. He also got a strange morph he had never seen that seemed to display both traits in a strange way. The following year, they produced two more of these strange kings from the same parents. They named this project joker.” Truly a unique and fascinating morph!
10. Striped California Kingsnake
Last but not least we have the interesting striped morph! Instead of the bands down the body that are common in California kingsnakes, the striped morph gets rid of those bands and instead has a unique white stripe that goes down the back of the snake. It can also be combined with other morphs to give the snake a unique color and pattern.
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