Desert Kingsnake

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Desert Kingsnake
Pair of Desert Kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula splendida
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae Genus: Lampropeltis Species: L. getula Subspecies: L. g. splendida
Trinomial name
Lampropeltis getula splendida Baird & Girard, 1853

The desert kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula splendida) is a kingsnake native to Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. It is non-venomous, colored yellow and black. The desert kingsnake's diet consists of rodents, lizards, and smaller snakes, including rattlesnakes. They are docile creatures when coming face to face with humans. If they do not try to escape, often they will "play dead" by flipping over onto their backside and lying motionless. Interestingly, it has been reported that, if one flips a pretending snake back into its natural position, it will flip itself over again - thus defeating the purpose of pretending to be dead. Kingsnakes are unaggressive towards humans and are sometimes domesticated. Some, such as ranchers, that domesticate kingsnakes do so in the hopes that they will feed on other snakes that might present more of a threat. generally, they reach sizes of 3-4 feet, 6 feet as a record.they also can escape easily from tanks.

This beautiful specimen is known for the image on the Alexboys foundation flag who deal with the conservation on the desert kingsnake.