oksnakes.org
  • Home
  • Non-Venomous Species
    • Broad-banded watersnake
    • Bullsnake
    • Coachwhip
    • Common gartersnake
    • Diamond-backed watersnake
    • Eastern hog-nosed snake
    • Flat-headed snake
    • Graham's crayfish snake
    • Great Plains ratsnake
    • Kansas glossy snake
    • Lined snake
    • Long-nosed snake
    • Marcy's checkered gartersnake
    • Northern red-bellied snake
    • Northern rough greensnake
    • Northern watersnake
    • Orange-striped ribbonsnake
    • Plain-bellied watersnake
    • Plains black-headed snake
    • Plains gartersnake
    • Plains hog-nosed snake
    • Prairie kingsnake
    • Racer
    • Ring-necked snake
    • Rough earthsnake
    • Scarletsnake
    • Speckled kingsnake
    • Texas brownsnake
    • Texas nightsnake
    • Threadsnake
    • Variable groundsnake
    • Western black-necked gartersnake
    • Western milksnake
    • Western mudsnake
    • Western smooth earthsnake
    • Western ratsnake
    • Western wormsnake
  • Venomous Species
    • Copperhead
    • Northern cottonmouth
    • Prairie rattlesnake
    • Timber rattlesnake
    • Western diamond-backed rattlesnake
    • Western massasauga rattlesnake
    • Western pygmy rattlesnake
  • Patterned
  • Solid
  • Striped
  • About
  • Contact
Prairie kingsnake
Lampropeltis calligaster
NON-VENOMOUS
 
Description: 
This snake has a tan or brown body with dark blotches down the center of its back. Two rows of smaller, alternating blotches run down each side of its body. The belly is yellow and has dark square blotches. Its scales are smooth and the anal plate is single.

Size: 
Adults 30 - 48 inches (76 - 122 cm)

Prey: 
Snakes, rodents, and lizards

Reproduction: 
Mates in spring and lays 5 - 20 eggs in June to July. Eggs hatch in 2 - 3 months and hatchlings are 8 - 12 inches (20 - 30 cm) long.

Habitat: 
Farmland, prairies, pastures, fields, and open woodlands

Other Information: 
​Spends a lot of the day under rocks, brush, or in mammal burrows. This snake occasionally eats other snakes and is unharmed by the bite of any of our native venomous snakes.

Like the ratsnakes, the prairie kingsnake is prone to vibrating or buzzing its tail when disturbed. Although sometimes similar in appearance, kingsnakes differ from ratsnakes in that their anal plate is single; a ratsnake's is divided.


Why doesn't the range map show this species in my county?
Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly