California King Snake
Lampropeltis californiae
Summary 2
The California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) is a non-venomous snake that is found in a wide variety of color morphs, most commonly with bands of black or brown that alternate with white or yellow bands.
Where on Campus? 3
California Kingsnakes are found mostly in the grassy areas around the perimeter of the campus.
Habitat 3
California Kingsnakes are found in a wide variety of habitats including chaparral, grasslands, oak woodlands, and suburbs.
Life History 3
Reproduction California Kingsnakes breed a few weeks following hibernation and eggs hatch usually sometime in mid-late summer.
Diet The California Kingsnake is a constrictor and eats small mammals, lizards, lizard eggs, snakes (including rattlesnakes), snake eggs, turtle eggs and hatchlings, frogs, salamanders, birds, bird eggs and chicks, and large invertebrates. The California Kingsnake is immune to rattlesnake venom.
Distribution 3
The California Kingsnake is found throughout most of California, but is absent from the damp redwood zone of the extreme northwest coast, the northeast great basin desert, and high elevations in the Sierra Nevada and other mountain ranges.
Outside of California, it occurs in southwestern Oregon, Nevada, southern Utah,extreme southwestern Colorado, much of Arizona, throughout Baja California, including several islands, and most of Sonora, Mexico. (Cal-HERPS).
Sources and Credits
- (c) Maury Duchamp, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/91226229@N00/879413011
- Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampropeltis%20getula%20californiae
- (c) gillian360, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
