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DESERT KINGSNAKE FACTS
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Description
The Desert Kingsnake is dark brown or black, with yellow speckles on the sides. Along the back are 20 to 42 saddles (which are sometimes very faintly defined). The saddle markings are separated by yellow speckled bands 2 -3 scales wide. It has a black head, and the lips are marked with light wide vertical lines. The underside is mainly black,.
Other Names
Sonoran Kingsnake
Size
90cm - 120cm. Can grow to 180cm
Environment
Despite its common name, it is not exclusively a desert snake. Although sometimes found in arid country, it is often found in brush land, and usually not far from water.
Food
rodents, lizards, smaller snakes including rattlesnakes.
Breeding
Breeding takes place in April and May. Five to twelve eggs are laid in June and July. The eggs are laid underground in loose moist soil, and hatch from late August to early October.
Range
Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. In Mexico it ranges as far west as Sonora
Notes
The Desert Kingsnake is non-venomous and harmless to humans. It is a docile snake and sometimes will lie still and "play dead" when confronted.
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Classification
| Class: | Reptilia | | Order: | Squamata (Serpentes) | | Family: | Colubridae | | Genus: | Lampropeltis | | Species: | getula splendida | | Common Name: | Desert Kingsnake |
Relatives in same Genus
Gray-banded Kingsnake (L. alterna)
Prairie Kingsnake (L. calligaster calligaster)
Mole Kingsnake (L. calligaster rhombomaculata)
California Kingsnake (L. getula californiae)
Florida Kingsnake (L. getula floridana)
Eastern Kingsnake (L. getula getula)
Speckled Kingsnake (L. getula holbrooki)
Mexican Kingsnake (L. mexicana mexicana)
Mexican Milk Snake (L. triangulum annulata)
Pueblan Milk Snake (L. triangulum campbelli)
Scarlet Kingsnake (L. triangulum elapsoides)
Honduran Milk Snake (L. triangulum hondurensis)
Nelson's Milk Snake (L. triangulum nelsoni)
Sinaloan Milk Snake (L. triangulum sinaloae)
Red Milk Snake (L. triangulum syspila)
Milk Snake (L. triangulum triangulum)
San Diego Mountain Kingsnake (L. zonata pulchra)
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