About California King Snake

Description

• At a maximum length of 48 inches and 5 inches in girth California kings are smaller than other king snake species. The head is small and barely wider than the body and the scales are shiny and smooth. The typical coloration is white bands over a black or dark brown background, but there are unbanded races with a single vertical line running from head to tail and others with lateral stripes. Desert king snakes tend to be brown with yellower stripes while coastal animals have the highest contrast black and white bands. The pet trade has albino varieties, but albino snakes are rarely found in the wild.

Range

• While common in California, California king snakes are also found as far north as Oregon and as far west as southwestern Colorado. The subspecies also occurs in northern New Mexico and in Arizona, where it hybridizes with other subspecies of king snake. The California king snake is also found in northern Mexico and Baja California.

Habitat

• California king snakes prefer open country and live in deserts and coastal scrub as well as in open pine forest. They are absent from thick forest and damp habitats but do live in open marshes. California king snakes have colonized farmland and even suburban areas.

Behavior

• The California king snake is active during the day except during the very hottest days when it emerges at night. During the winter, large numbers of king snakes gather in underground caves and enter brumation, a dormant state similar to hibernation. California kings prey on small reptiles, such as lizards, as well as frogs, birds and rodents. They are famously tolerant of rattlesnake venom and will eat other snake species. If disturbed they are also able to passably imitate the rattle of a rattlesnake.

Captivity

• Their attractive variable colors and ease of care make California kings very popular as pets. Keep larger adult snakes in a glass tank with a minimum volume of 20 gallons. If you try to keep more than one in the same tank the larger snake will eventually attempt to eat the smaller one.

  Keep the tank at around 75 degrees Fahrenheit, with a warm basking area under a heat lamp or over a heat pad that reaches 85 degrees. Provide a water container large enough to permit soaking with a curved cork bark or other shelter. California king snakes are best fed on mice in captivity. While juveniles will take day-old mice, or pinkies, adults need fully grown mice or even small rats.