California Kingsnake
Lampropeltis getula californiae
The snakes featured on this page are two different subspecies of the Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula). The top two pictures are a California Kingsnake from near Tucson, Arizona. It has narrow white bands separated by wide black saddles. The one in the lower photo is the Desert Kingsnake which has small black saddles and light speckling on the sides.
The California Kingsnake (and Desert Kingsnake) is found in just about any type of habitat in the west. It is mainly active during the day but will become nocturnal during extremely hot weather. These large (82 inches max) snakes are constictors and eat a wide variety of prey. They eat mice, rats, birds, bird eggs, lizards, and other snakes. They are well known for eating rattlesnakes and seem to be immune to their venom.
