This is perhaps the most widely sought after serpent by herpers in the Golden State. It’s attractive colors and elusive nature make it a prize worth finding.

It is secretive, but not rare in suitable habitat. This reptile spends most of the time underground, under surface objects, or inside rock crevices. It is occasionally seen active on the ground in the daytime, especially near shaded streams on hot sunny days.

California Mountain Kingsnakes have a banded pattern that consists of red, black, and white crossbands. The bands are always arranged in the same order with each red crossband being surrounded by two black crossbands, forming what is called a triad.

Adults are usually 24 to 36 inches long and are found in a wide variety of habitats, including coniferous forests, oak-pine woodlands, riparian woodlands, chaparrals, and coastal sage scrubs.

California Mountain Kingsnakes are constrictors that have a diet which includes lizards, small mammals and snakes, as well as small birds. As their “mountain” name implies, they live in an elevational range from 1,500 – 8,000 feet.

This species is found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Coast Ranges north of Monterey Bay, California, north into the Klamath Mountains, in Oregon, plus an additional, disjunct population along the Columbia Gorge, in Washington.

It is always a thrill to come across this fine snake species while in the field.

Third Eye Herp
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The most exciting part of my recent visit to southern California was seeing a few of these spectacular serpents in the field. This is one of the most strikingly colored snakes in North America. Its colors really stand out on its smooth, shiny scales.

This reptile is endemic to North America and a Coral Snake mimic, having a similar pattern consisting of red, black, and yellow on its body, but kingsnakes are completely harmless.

These are slender, smooth and medium-sized snakes usually about 24-30 inches long. Most Coast Mountain Kingsnakes live in the mountains of southern California, but they can adapt to a wide variety of habitats, including coniferous forests, oak-pine woodlands, riparian woodlands, chaparrals and coastal sage scrubs.

Coast Mountain Kingsnakes are constrictors, their diet includes lizards, smaller snakes, nestling birds and bird eggs and small mammals. Once a family with several subspecies, Mountain Kings in California are now considered two species, this one and one in the northern part of the state known as the California Mountain Kingsnake.

This reptile is mostly diurnal, but can be active at night in warmer weather. it is an excellent climber and prefers southwestern facing slopes, often retreating beneath granite flakes of rocks. It was awesome to see this species of snake in the wild.

Third Eye Herp
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