Desert Kingsnake

The Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula splendida) is a subspecies of kingsnake native to Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. It is nonvenomous, colored yellow and black. The desert kingsnake's diet consists of rodents, lizards, and smaller snakes, including rattlesnakes.They normally grow 3–4 feet long with a maximum length of 6.8 feet. 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 backs and lying motionless. It has been reported that if a pretending snake is flipped back into its natural position, it will flip itself over again, defeating the purpose of pretending to be dead. Some who domesticate kingsnakes, such as ranchers, do so in the hopes that the kingsnakes will feed on other snakes which might present more of a threat.