(Video) Kingsnakes Mating

Reader Jen Alves shared this video that she took when she witnessed two kingsnakes mating near Salmon Creek a few of weeks ago.

According to livescience.com, “In general, [kingsnake] mating season lasts from March until August, and females often have more than one clutch of eggs per season. Males seek out females through chemical scent. They will fight each other for a female, wrestling other males until their heads are flat on the ground. Males often bite the female’s neck during mating, according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.”

To read more about kingsnakes, click this link.

Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules

Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

23 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Wolfganga
Guest
Wolfganga
5 years ago

So cool! I love King snakes. Thank you for sharing!

Anon Forrest
Guest
Anon Forrest
5 years ago

So cool, thanks! I’ve seen gopher snakes mating, but not King’s.
By the by, I found a snake dropped by a hawk that I can’t ID:
It was a BROWN and YELLOW snake banded like a King; it was much wider than a king; it was 4 feet long with a very blunted tail.
Any ideas? Neighbor said it was a “Queen” snake… but he’s known to pull my leg.

Mary Ann
Guest
Mary Ann
5 years ago
Reply to  Anon Forrest

On internet found photos identified as Kings and they were brown & yellow. Wikipedia says “a wide range of color variations”. There are Queen snakes but they have stripes the length of their bodies. Could the tail shape be from an injury?

Mr. Bear
Guest
Mr. Bear
5 years ago
Reply to  Anon Forrest

King snakes can be brown and yellow. 4 feet is a huge one though!

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  Anon Forrest

Rubber boa? Rare in these parts

Dave
Guest
Dave
5 years ago
Reply to  Anon Forrest

Sounds like a kingsnake with an injured tail, 4′ is not uncommon for kingsnakes, which is roughly their maximum length. Queensnakes look nothing like kingsnakes, they also are found in the South Eastern part of the US, far from the range of the California Kingsnake.

Dawn
Guest
Dawn
5 years ago
Reply to  Anon Forrest

King snakes in San Diego County where I was a kid were brown and yellow.

p.s. still having to register every entry. Why?

Kym Kemp
Admin
5 years ago
Reply to  Dawn

I think it is on your computer–it appears to be not saving cookies.

hmm
Guest
hmm
5 years ago

Very cool

Alex
Guest
Alex
5 years ago

“Why don’t we do it in the road?
No one will be watching us…”

Well maybe a few people will be watching.

Hmmmmm!
Guest
Hmmmmm!
5 years ago
Reply to  Alex

Lol!

First all he said was, “I wanna hold your hand.” And see where that leads!

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
5 years ago

Not an authority of critters ‘doing it’. But dang! That looked passionate!!
Wish they would mate at my place, where, afterwards they could feast on the gophers!

Side note: Have long wondered if I could import (a) King Snakes to live at my homestead to balance out the abundance of gophers and moles. Is that possible? Would they stick around???

local observer
Guest
local observer
5 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

maybe if you had some rattlesnakes or other snakes.

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
5 years ago
Reply to  local observer

Thanks for the replies!
I do. Maybe less rattlers now. When there were kids living at my place we killed the ones around the homestead.
Do I need to find, trap and import a King (or Gopher) Snake(s)? Or can I buy them somewhere???

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

I’d sure like a gopher snake to set up shop at my place. I even made a couple of shelters from old terra cotta pots. No luck so far.

local observer
Guest
local observer
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

those get too hot. intermingle scrape lumber and plywood so there are gaps to call home and put it in mixed light. in no time you will have snakes or alligator lizards.

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  local observer

Thanks for the tip. My shelters are in deep shade so maybe too cold. Rattlesnakes are here and occasionally others. Only one gopher snake sighting in 8 years though. A big one seems almost like the equivalent of another cat.

Dave
Guest
Dave
5 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

You’re better off building owl boxes. Relocating snakes often results in the death of the snake, there has been studies done on this very topic.

humbbird
Guest
humbbird
5 years ago

When I was a little girl growing up in Santa Barbara, I caught a king snake and wrapped it around my neck and went home to share my finding with family and neighbors, they totally freaked out, lol, so I let it go in an area conducive for snakes, lol has been a lasting memory

Hobo-joe
Guest
Hobo-joe
5 years ago

Reptile porn!

Dave
Guest
Dave
5 years ago

That’s two male California Kingsnakes. Notice the constant corkscrew motion? They’re both fighting for position. Females don’t react this way, they may shake their tail violently or attempt to crawl away if they’re non-receptive, otherwise they’ll lay motionless and lift up their tail if they’re interested in breeding. Also, it’s already way too late in the year for kingsnake breeding, which takes place primarily in March and April. All females are pretty much gravid (pregnant) by May-June. Any breeding this far into the year would result in baby snakes hatching too close to Winter, and unable to find food to gain body fat to hold them over during that time.

Whole Mateel
Guest
Whole Mateel
5 years ago
Reply to  Dave

Or…… Maybe they are gay snakes and not concerned with procreation! 😉

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Whole Mateel

Insert queen snake joke here. 😉