Kingsnakes and Miksnakes

King Snakes are harmless reptiles belonging to the colubridae family – the genus being Lampropeltis. Most of the King Snakes are decorated by Mother Nature with vibrant patterns.

The King Snakes kill their prey by the deadly hug of constriction and are not at all fussy about their diet. They take what they get – snakes, rodents, lizards, birds and the occasional egg. Other snakes cannot kill them with their venom and King Snakes have been recorded to have eaten Rattle Snakes! Little wonder then that they are termed “King”.

The patterns and colour of the Scarlet King Snake often confuse them with poisonous Coral Snakes. Round this phenomenon has grown various traditional couplets in America -

“If red touches black, it’s okay Jack.
If red touches yellow, you’re a dead fellow.”

“Red on black, venom lack
Red on yellow kill a fellow.”

The King Snake lords it over vast tracts as it slithers around coniferous forests, woodland regions, marshy land, grasslands and sandy deserts. It loves rocky places with shrubs and clumps of green and hides under stones and logs.

The Garter Snake, Gopher Snake and Whip Snake are close relatives of the King Snake. The adult King Snake measures from 30” to 85” but the most common to be seen are 3’ to 4’ long.

King Snakes greatly vary in colour as well as pattern. The Californian sub-species are black having brown bands interspersed with white or off-white bands that do no encircle the entire body. Sometime these have yellow or white stripes on a background that maybe black or brown. Some are partly striped and partly banded. The address of the snake determines the pattern. Some are called ‘aberrants’ because these are nomads without any fixed postal address.

The Western Black King Snake can be seen in South Arizona as well as in Sonora, Mexico. These are dark brown or deep gray-black without stripes. The Desert King Snake is another sub-group. It’s belly is dark and spotted although in some these spots may hardly be seen.

There is a difference between the Common King Snake and Mountain King Snake. The latter never enter the desert land, have bands of white, yellow, black or red.

The King Snake bestirs itself during the day – late morning and afternoon. But during hot summer nights it is not averse to a night stroll. Its weapon is the sense of smell. First it bites the prey and then throws the coils around it in a deadly embrace.

The King Snake mates during summer and the female lays a clutch comprising of 4 to 20 eggs. It takes about 60 days for the eggs to hatch.

Today the King Snakes have become favourite pets leading to a question about their survival in the raw.

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