Reproduction
As with most reptiles, L. g. splendida lays eggs. Courtship and copulation occurs between the months of March and June, with clutches of 5 to 12 adhesive-surfaced eggs deposited in late June or July, sometimes buried as deeply as a foot to prevent drying through their moisture-permeable shells. After about 60 days of incubation the 8- to 10-inch long hatchlings, weighing about a fifth of an ounce, emerge. Brightly yellow-speckled in vertebral cross-lines, they also exhibit a lateral row of large, dark brown spots which, as they mature, are gradually fragmented by encroaching yellow flecks.
Read more about this topic: Desert Kingsnake
Famous quotes containing the word reproduction:
“Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul. The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of Artist.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (18091845)
“It is so characteristic, that just when the mechanics of reproduction are so vastly improved, there are fewer and fewer people who know how the music should be played.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (18891951)
“The atmosphere parents wish to create when talking with children about birth and reproduction is warm, honest, and reassuring, one that tells children they are free to ask questions as often as they need to, and you will answer them as lovingly as you know how.”
—Joanna Cole (20th century)