![]() It is also reported that when a hungry kingsnake decides to take a rattlesnake for a meal, it grabs it by the head to avoid being bitten. The word on the street is that kingsnakes are unaffected by rattlesnake venom, which is true, but they are not completely immune. The “king” in their name refers to the fact that they regularly hunt other snakes of all kinds (which makes the kingsnake the “king” over other snakes), and perhaps their most famous trait is that they can and do kill rattlesnakes (and other venomous species) as part of their diet. They also breed readily and adventurous breeders have crossed them with close relatives to create individuals with many different colors including yellows and oranges, and even going so far as to change the stripes to run along the length of the body instead of around it. They have a calm disposition, quickly become used to being handled, and are easy to keep in captivity. It helps that kingsnakes are one of the most widely occurring species being found in every state of the nation. Of course, any critter with such wonderful colors will attract people who want to possess them and kingsnakes happen to be the second most popular snake kept as pets, after boa constrictors. Then the black and white colors blended beautifully in the mix of light and shadows and it would have been hard to find if I hadn’t been watching it all along. Even as it glided over the road edge rocks and gravel, it was easy to keep in view, but all that changed dramatically when it slipped into the shadows and debris of the natural shrubs. To me, this looked like an easy spot for some Red-tailed Hawk flying overhead or one of the many Greater Roadrunners always looking for a tasty reptile meal.Īfter taking pictures, and not wanting my friend to get hit by a car, I gently herded it into the brush along the side of the road. By its black and white color pattern, this gorgeous three foot long critter stood out against the pavement, causing me to wonder how such an obvious and eye-catching color pattern gives any protection. ![]() By BRUCE LUND The Common Kingsnake is Nevada’s only black-and-white banded snake.Īfter writing about the Gopher Snake a couple of weeks ago, I came across another dramatically colored southern Nevada resident on my bike ride, the Common Kingsnake.
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