# Desert kingsnake > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Desert_kingsnake > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Desert_kingsnake.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_kingsnake > Source revision: 1317394124 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Species of snake Desert kingsnake Pair of desert kingsnakes, Lampropeltis splendida Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae Genus: Lampropeltis Species: L. splendida Binomial name Lampropeltis splendida (Baird & Girard, 1854) Synonyms Ophibolus splendidus Baird & Girard, 1853 Lampropeltis splendida Cope, 1860 Ophibolus getulus splendidus Cope, 1900 Lampropeltis getulus splendida Schmidt & Davis, 1941 The **desert kingsnake** (***Lampropeltis splendida***) is a [species](/source/Species) of [kingsnake](/source/Kingsnake) native to [Texas](/source/Texas), [Arizona](/source/Arizona), and [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico), United States. It is not [venomous](/source/Venom_(poison)), colored [yellow](/source/Yellow) and [black](/source/Black). The desert kingsnake's [diet](/source/Diet_(nutrition)) consists of [rodents](/source/Rodent), [lizards](/source/Lizard), and smaller [snakes](/source/Snake), including [rattlesnakes](/source/Rattlesnake). They normally grow 3–4 ft long, but have been known to grow up to 6.8 ft. They are docile creatures when confronted by humans. If they do not try to escape, often they "play dead" by flipping over onto their backs and lying motionless. Some who domesticate kingsnakes, such as ranchers, do so in the hopes that the kingsnakes will feed on other snakes, which might present more of a threat. It was previously considered a subspecies of the [common kingsnake](/source/Common_kingsnake). The desert kingsnake belongs to the [Colubridae](/source/Colubridae) family, which is the largest family of snakes in the world.[2] ## Appearance The snake's glossy dorsum is black or very dark brown colored, finely speckled with off-white or yellow. These pale flecks form dimly defined narrow vertebral crossbands, between which the intervening rectangular areas are black. Pale yellow scales may predominate along the lower sides. The abdomens of both adult and young snakes are mostly black, with white or pale yellow blotches marking the outer ends of the ventral plates. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 23 to 25 rows at midbody and the anal plate is undivided. ## Family The desert kingsnake belongs to the Colubridae or Colubrid family, the largest family of snakes in the world. ## Habitat The desert kingsnake may occur in any rural [habitat](/source/Habitat) within its range. Despite its common name, it is most likely to be found in [mesic](/source/Mesic_habitat) areas, especially near water tanks or within [riparian corridors](/source/Riparian_corridor).[3] ## Prey This snake is known to be a powerful constrictor; its diet consists of mostly mice if domestic, and other rodents if wild. It also can feed on reptile eggs detected beneath the surface via smell. In part because of its resistance to [pitviper](/source/Pitviper) venom, the desert kingsnake is able to consume young [diamondback rattlesnakes](/source/Diamondback_rattlesnake) that are common within its range, and at the scent of *L. getula* even adult [western diamondbacks](/source/Western_diamondback_rattlesnake) edge hastily backward, shielding their heads with defensive loops.[3] ## Reproduction As with most [reptiles](/source/Reptiles), *L. splendida* lays eggs. Courtship and copulation occur between March and June, with clutches of 5 to 12 adhesive-surfaced eggs deposited in late June or July, sometimes buried as deeply as a foot to prevent drying through their moisture-permeable shells. After about 60 days of incubation, the 8- to 10-inch-long hatchlings, weighing about a fifth of an ounce, emerge. Brightly yellow-speckled in vertebral cross-lines, they also exhibit a lateral row of large, dark brown spots, which as they mature, are gradually fragmented by encroaching yellow flecks.[3] ## References Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Lampropeltis splendida](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Lampropeltis_splendida). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-iucn_1-0)** Hammerson, G.A. (2019). ["*Lampropeltis splendida*"](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/68045356/68045369). *[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/IUCN_Red_List)*. **2019** e.T68045356A68045369. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T68045356A68045369.en](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T68045356A68045369.en). Retrieved 20 May 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Desert Kingsnake -"](https://www.reptilerange.com/desert-kingsnake/). Retrieved 2022-02-26. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Tennant_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Tennant_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Tennant_3-2) Tennant, Alan; John E. Werler; Joseph E. Forks; Gerard T. Salmon (1998). *A Field Guide to Texas Snakes*. Gulf Publishing Field Guide Series. D. Craig McIntyre (2nd ed.). Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company. p. 204. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87719-277-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87719-277-4). Taxon identifiers Lampropeltis splendida Wikidata: Q3216844 Wikispecies: Lampropeltis splendida CoL: 3S4WB GBIF: 5224492 iNaturalist: 104004 IRMNG: 10359121 ITIS: 1082674 IUCN: 68045356 NatureServe: 2.106267 NCBI: 1240245 Open Tree of Life: 193911 RD: splendida --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Desert kingsnake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_kingsnake) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_kingsnake?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.