For those of you out there that hate King snakes (black snakes)

[chickenwhisperer]

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Thats where Id expect to find a true ophiophagic snake . . .

 

[Thamnophis]

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All kingsnakes are snake eaters. I do not recall any literature or personal experience that would indicate the subspecies splendida is any more likely to take snakes. There are many small rodents in splendida habitat. Maybe you can enlighten me on this?

 

[chickenwhisperer]

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All kingsnakes are snake eaters. I do not recall any literature or personal experience that would indicate the subspecies splendida is any more likely to take snakes. There are many small rodents in splendida habitat. Maybe you can enlighten me on this?

Its a well-known fact that a snake that lives in the desert is more likely to eat another snake, as that is the available food supply.
Splendida lets other desert snakes search out and eat the rodents and lizards, then it goes hunting for those gut-loaded snakes.
Most other kingsnakes would rather eat lizards.


I cant prove this to you with literature, it comes from the last 25 years of my life breeding snakes and learning everything I can about them, from experience.
I have dealt with WC and CB snakes.
I caught my 1st kingsnake(2.5 feet) at age 7, Im 33 now, and it died about 6 years ago, from old age I assume.
A 2.5 ft kingsnake is about 2 years old, so that snake was roughly 18-20 yrs old . . . purty good for a kingsnake.


You ask any knowledgeableherpetologist that deals with kings and they will tell you the same.

Yes, any "kingsnake" might eat another snake, but most dont.
And like I edited in to my og reply, the more I look at that original pic in the original post, the more I see splendida, Id need to see the head to be sure.

ETA- I do not get my info from wiki, and I just saw what they had written for the species, and its so way off that if you try to use info from it, Ill know.

 

[ellieroo]

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...tern+indigo+snakes&um=1&hl=en&sa=X&tbs=isch:1


good pic about third down they do grow to 8 1/2 ft.

 

[TwistedSerpent]

If desert kings are only really snake eaters then all the cali kings I have hatched out who prefered snakes over rodents must be unique then? In fact my experiance with most common kingsnakes is that they will readily take a snake if offered. In my experiance Cali kings infact have a much stronger desire to eat snakes then any of the others I've dealt with. Mine I keep around just to dispose of non feeding hatchlings and infertile (snake) eggs. I have been in the hobby for a very long time and have known many of the top people who have been in it for even longer. Not once have I heard that only one species is mainly a snake eater. Of course there are some that are less likely too but in my experiance the most common are all fairly equal.

Chickenwhisperer look at that snake's head, it is defiantly not a corn or rat of any type. With experiance with most of North Americas colubrids you should know that patterning for all is very similer especially as babies and that headshape often is biggest species indicator.

 

[TwistedSerpent]

Elliroo look at head shapes, Indigos and black rats are both black, but they are shaped very differently.

 

[ellieroo]

That's why I put up that web site.As a kid in Florida I had an indigo for a pet briefly til Mom found out!!

 

[Thamnophis]

chickenwhisperer, your logic is twisted. If its a "well known fact" than its in the literature.

And if L. g. splendida eat other snakes because that is the available food supply, where are all those other "gut loaded" snakes finding rodents?

You say, "ask knowledgeable herpetologists" but isn't that who writes the herp literature? Seems you could find mention of it easily if its a well known fact, agreed to by all knowledgeable herpetologists

Your assertion that the desert king is more likely to eat snakes doesn't fit with my experience, or twistedserpents either, or the literature. Your assertion that "most kingsnakes prefer lizards" is simply not true at all.

Your assertion that most kingsnakes don't eat other snakes is simply not true either.

And BTW, the kingsnake in the original photo is in no way similar to splendida, but a classic speckled kingsnake: holbrooki, not found in the desert.

Not trying to be mean here. just think its important that people don't get fed too much bad information.

 

[TwistedSerpent]

Also we all need to remember that we need to be on the same side instead of arguing with each other to help others learn not all snakes need to be killed on sight and some are actually preferred to have around.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

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