A close of of a Longnosed Snake’s namesake. These snakes are commonly mistaken as kingsnakes, even by (especially by!) the born and raised locals. There is a superficial resemblance, especially when they are in the purely black and white form. However, these red eyes, pointed snout, and red/orange bands are their own thing entirely. Longnosed Snakes are, compared to many other snake species, able to tolerate urbanization to a large degree. As a result, they can be found in backyards relatively far from the nearest native desert, often being reported by homeowners as the “first snake we’ve ever seen here”. They are harmless, of course, even being reluctant to bite at all.
A California Kingsnake from an interesting pocket of Sonoran Desert influence near the Arizona/Utah border.
“kingsnakes keep rattlers away!!!” – a common, and incorrect, myth of the desert.
Kingsnakes do eat rattlesnakes, but that’s far from all that they eat. In a dietary study examining the stomach contents of 2,662 kingsnakes, rattlesnakes made up just 7% of prey items. While rattlesnakes are an ideal prey item for these animals, they are far from their only, or even primary, target. (Wiseman et al 2019)
In reality, the presence of a kingsnake does not indicate that there are fewer rattlesnakes in an area. If anything, a lot of kingsnakes may be an indicator of abundant prey! The places we often find kingsnakes regularly are also places with a large amount of rattlesnakes.
Why does this matter? Kingsnakes are routinely collected or purchased by homeowners to release on their property with the belief that it is going to control the rattlesnakes that may be there. But, the likely result is going to be a dead kingsnake … with no apparent effect to the local rattlesnake population.
So yes, kingsnakes do eat rattlesnakes. But no, it’s not all they eat, and moving kingsnakes around randomly will not provide the protection most people believe it will.
Wiseman, K. D., Greene, H. W., Koo, M. S., & Long, D. J. (2019). Feeding ecology of a generalist predator, the California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae): Why rare prey matter. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 14(1), 1–30.
Northern Cat-eyed Snake from late last year. This animal is found in thornscrub and tropical forest habitat throughout much of Central America, and just barely makes it into the United States, in south Texas.
A Speckled Racer (Drymobius margaritiferus) from a visit to South Texas last year. This species is found throughout Central America and just a bit into South America, ranging north to just barely enter the United States.
We found this young glossysnake in Gila County on a warm evening. Often, Sonoran Gophersnakes are misidentified as this species. One notable trait to differentiate if up close is in its name. Sonoran Gophersnakes have a ridge (keel) in each scale that gives them a rough texture and appearance, and the Glossysnakes have no such keel, and look smooth and shiny in comparison.
They’re not uncommon, but most people who spend time outdoors are still unlikely to ever see one. Of the snake species we are called to capture at homes, too, this is among the least likely to be there. On that list, it falls behind non-native animals like the Ball Python and Green Iguana in total instances over the years.
