Wildlife Wonderings: The Prairie Kingsnake

Our guest reptile for today's Wildlife Wonderings on Wednesday, June 17, is the Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster). Prairie Kingsnakes are found across 13 states in the midwestern and southern United States.
Prairie Kingsnakes are light brown or grey-brown in color, with dark reddish-brown blotching down the dorsal length of their bodies. Their ventral side is pale or yellowish. They are capable of growing to lengths of 30-43 inches, with males longer and heavier on average than females. They are easily mistaken for some species of colubrid snakes of the genus Pantherophis, which can have similar markings. Dorsal marking may fade with age.
The generic name, Lampropeltis, is derived from Greek Lampros, meaning "shiny," and pelta, meaning "shield," likely in reference to the genus' smooth and shiny dorsal scales. The specific name, calligaster, is derived from Greek Kallus, for "beauty," and gaster, for "belly."
Prairie voles are a common prey item but Prairie Kingsnakes also eat other small mammals, reptiles, and northern bobwhite eggs. Prairie Kingsnakes are nonvenomous constrictors, so they coil around their prey and suffocate it until dead.
They are typically docile. Like most colubrids, if harassed they will shake their tail, which, if in dry leaf litter, can sound like a rattlesnake. They are not typically prone to biting and may excrete a foul-smelling musk if handled. Prairie Kingsnakes primarily use prairie, pasture, and shrublands, less often use forests, and appear to never use croplands or crossroads, which may fragment their habitat and be barriers to movement. They will also use edges between grasslands and roads or forests, especially females that may use warmer road edges to help with egg production.
Many adult females do not breed within a given year. Egg laying has been reported in June through July, with clutch sizes averaging 10 eggs that hatch in late August or September. Prairie Kingsnakes often double in length during their first year of life and reach sexual maturity after two to three years.
To learn more about this interesting snake, come to Jesse Jones Park & Nature Center on Wednesday, June 17, from 12 noon to 1 p.m., for a look at a live Prairie Kingsnake.