Thayers variable kingsnake (Lampropeltis mexicana theyeri) are native to eastern slopes of the Tamaulipas plateaus of Mexico and are one of the smaller king snake species in captivity. Part of the Mexican mountain kingsnake family these stay much smaller and are far less aggressive/food orientated than the USA kingsnakes such as the more common Californian kingsnake or Florida kingsnake which over the years have given a bit of a bad rep to kingsnakes as being a bit “bitey”.

They can be picky feeders at first to get started but once established they are a hardy and rewarding species to keep, much like a slightly smaller corn snake in terms of care. We often actually recommend Mexican mountain kingsnakes as a preferable starter species over the more common and better known corn snake as we find them to be calmer and the smaller size (90cm max) is a bonus for most first time snake keepers.

There are 5 different naturally occurring colour phases and any two bred together can produce young of all 5 phases. The most encountered phase is the “leonis” phase which can have a pale orange, yellow or grey (sometimes called buckskin) background colouration along with orange/red banding which has given rise to an argument to reclassify the species as “Lampropeltis leonis”. There is also the grey band phase which looks like a grey banded kingsnake with strong bands of alternating grey and orange edged in black. Then there is the milk snake phase which has the concentric rings of grey black and enlarged red bands like a Milk Snake. There is also an albino variant possibly arising from hybridisation with another Lampropeltis species (most likely Ruthven’s kingsnake). The rarest (and by far most expensive) of all phases is the melanistic phase, which is jet black all over, and looks like a miniature Mexican black kingsnake (a different species). Although in theory breeding any two colour phases together can produce offspring of any colour, we have found that the parent’s colouration will influence the probability of producing the other phases in the resultant offspring. At present we only have “leonis” available but for the 2025 season we hope to be able to produce melanistic for the first time as we have a group of young adults that should be reaching maturity ready for next season.

Theyer’s Variable Kingsnakes make an absolutely top choice for a first pet snake and are a staff favourite here in store and by far our most popular selling small colubrid snake.