As I was growing up in the southern Plains of the Texas Panhandle, I vividly recall my first encounter with many of the snake species that I have, later in life as an adult, observed countless numbers of. One such species that I recall fondly was of a beautiful black and gold snake that has held my captivation for the decades since that first contact.
The Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis {getula} splendida) is shiny, semi-colorful snake that occurs from southeastern Arizona eastward to Texas, then southward to the Mexican states of Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi.
In Texas, it can be encountered in the western onehalf of the state, save the eastern Panhandle region.
From the eastern Panhandle, along the Red River, and eastward it is replaced by a different common kingsnake species, the Speckled Kingsnake.
Like other members of the Kingsnake genus, the Desert Kingsnake is covered by smooth, glossy scales that give the appearance of the animal being waxed and shiny. In fact, the genus name Lampropeltis is derived from Latin words meaning “shiny shield”. The background coloration is dark brown to black with a pattern of narrow yellow to white cross-bands that are more or less regularly spaced.
Each scale along the dorsal sides is highlighted with a yellow center, giving the snake a salt-and-pepper appearance. The belly is chiefly black, although there is occasionally a random pattern of yellow splotches. The head is usually black with yellow lips scales, although some specimens have heads that are overall moderately speckled with yellow.
This common snake is a medium-sized non-venomous serpent, with most adults reaching sexual maturity between thirty and forty inches in total length.
The largest specimen ever recorded was right at sixty inches, although this size is definitely not the norm for this species.
Although the common name of the Desert Kingsnake implies that this species prefers to live in the desert, this naming does not show the complete picture. While it does inhabit areas of the Chihuahuan Desert of west Texas, this animal prefers areas with permanent to semi-permanent areas of moisture. Moist canyon bottoms, as well as grasslands with an abundance of mammal burrows are utilized to prevent desiccation. The vast areas of cultivated fields in the Texas Panhandle are favored areas as well.
This species of Kingsnake forages for food during the morning and evening hours during the spring and fall, becoming nocturnal during the heat of the summer months.
Desert Kings, like other members of this genus, feed on a large variety of vertebrate animals. A recurring myth regarding this animal is that it will seek out and prey exclusively upon other snakes, finding rattlesnakes a particular delicacy. While it is true that this powerful constrictor will prey upon other snakes (which is incidentally why they are called Kingsnakes!) as well the fact that they are unique in North American serpents in that they are immune to the effects of pit viper venom, it will not go out of its way to consume other ophidians. The varied dietary habits of this snake include food items such as small mammals, birds, bird eggs, lizards, turtles, frogs, and other reptile eggs.
As with almost all other reptiles that reside in temperate climates, they undergo a period of inactivity during the coldest months of the year, allowing sexually mature adults to generate the sperm and eggs necessary for successful reproduction in the spring. Like most other harmless snakes found in Texas, Desert Kingsnakes are egg-laying creatures.
Mating occurs primarily during the months of April and May with egg deposition happening in late June or early July. Egg clutches vary in size from five to twelve, depending on the size and age of the female.
The eggs are of moderate size, generally just over an inch in length. The soft, permeable eggs are buried beneath debris to hold the humidity levels at a premium to avoid desiccation.
The neonates hatch from the eggs roughly two months after deposition and average eight inches at hatching. After hatching, the young are carbon copies of the adults in appearance, except they typically are a tad brighter. And like other snake species, they require no assistance from the parents as they are capable of fending for themselves at birth.
