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GC7HZDZ
Cannibalistic KingType: Mystery | Size: Regular 
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| Terrain:  By: DrPolleyClass @ | Hide Date: 02/04/2018 | Status: Available Country: United States | State: Colorado Coordinates: N39° 58.786 W105° 09.793 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0 Welcome to “Cannibalistic King.” This is one in a series of student-driven puzzle caches devoted to the wonderful organisms that inhabit Colorado. Enjoy your herpetology lesson on this cold-blooded predator. The Desert Kingsnake is a subspecies of Lampropeltis getula found in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southeastern Colorado. The Desert King snake is also known as the Sonoran kingsnake, and it’s a nocturnal subspecies of the common King snake. They get the name “king” due to the fact that they will eat other snakes, making them the “King” of snakes. These snakes usually grow between 3 and 4 feet, though larger specimens have been measured as long as 6.8 feet. They have banded “salt and pepper” scales on its back. On the ventral(belly) side of its body, they have pale scales. On the dorsal(back) they have 23-25 rows of mostly dark scales, with some yellowish patches. The females are slightly larger than the males. For instance, Males have between 199-227 ventral scales, while females have 203-237. Desert Kingsnakes are non-venomous and immune to pit viper venom. It is a generally docile snake. They live between 10-20 years.
It got its name because it is known to cannibalize other snakes. The diet of the desert kingsnake consists of small rodents, lizards, other snakes, small birds, and the eggs of reptiles and birds. It favors diamondback rattlesnakes for food. The answer you want for the letter F happens to be one. They prefer young diamondbacks, but even adult rattlesnakes will hurriedly back away and take a defensive position when they encounter the Desert Kingsnake. Potential predators of the desert kingsnake include the western spotted skunk, gray fox, badgers, bobcats and coyotes. However cloacal (anal vent) scent secretions will deter the predators and may prevent them from eating the snakes, or potentially any snakes. The prefered habitat of Lampropeltis getula splendida is an arid or semi-arid mesic areas. They seem particularly fond of areas with a permanent water sources. They are higher up on the food chain/web.
The full scientific name of the Desert kingsnake is Chordata Reptilia Squamata Serpentes Colubridae Lampropeltis getula splendida. Like other snakes it close its retinas while sleeping and has no eyelids. Like all snakes, the Desert King is oviparous, meaning it lays eggs that hatch individual snakes. The desert kingsnake lays clutches of 2-17 eggs approximately 60 days before June/July. The eggs are buried up to a foot deep and have moisture permeable shells. It is most active in late afternoon and evening and is also good at hiding. They will put up a valiant defense in the wild, possibly discharging a foul musk. One of the most interesting things about desert kingsnakes is that when taken into captivity as adults, they may at first also release fecal matter as a deterent. Ranchers will sometimes raise King snakes in captivity. Ranchers view them as a natural rattlesnake control agent. Snakes are cold-blooded, meaning that they cannot regulate their body temperature directly. In the desert they thermoregulate by venting excess heat energy into the air and sunning themselves to warm up. Interestingly, the evolutionary history of all snakes can be traced back to lizards. Snakes evolved from lizards who slowly lost their limbs in a trade for amazing speed using serpentine motion. Even more amazing is that snakes have the vestigial remains of a hip bones attached to their spines.
Another interesting thing (not directly about this kingsnake subspecies)is that scientists have found that Florida kingsnake, eastern kingsnake and Eastern Apalachicola Lowlands kingsnake are each a separate species with unique genetic lineages adapted for their regions of habitation. This might also apply to kingsnakes farther west. I personally find desert kingsnakes to be a very interesting species of snake. And I hope that they will survive for millennia to come. Additional Waypoints
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