A portrait of a canefield king.Time and again Jake and I had mentioned taking a drive to South Florida and trying our luck at locating 1 or 2 of the once common and now much less common Florida peninsula kingsnakes. By today’s genetic standards these are simply eastern kings. By Linnaean standards they are easily differentiated from the eastern kingsnake. Some researchers have simply considered them an intergrade between the eastern and the South Florida kingsnake. Others (and I prefer this designation) have assigned the subspecific designation of Lampropeltis getula floridana to these. With this latter designation Florida would be populated by 4 kingsnake subspecies, the Apalachicola Lowlands, the common, the South Florida (aka Brook’s), and the Florida.

It was early in January 2020 that we finally made the jaunt southward. We beat a southbound cold front by 36 hours. And in those 36 hours we searched hard for the Peninsula (or Florida) kings. Found were garter snakes, a very disfigured yellow rat, some banded and brown water snakes, and some baby American crocodiles. No kings---Florida or otherwise.

The next morning dawned a bit “brrrrrish”—close to 50F. For Floridians that’s brrrrrish. We decided to recheck a few boards just in case a wandering king decided to seek shelter from the cool. Few boards zero kings but one bobcat. We drove 15 miles to a new venue. First several boards, zero. One more board area to recheck and the we’d be heading north again.

Glad we rechecked. 1 yearling king was at home. Quite a thrill, for it was the first one either Jake or I had seen for 10+ years.

Homeward bound!

Desert striped whipsnakles may vary geographically in color intensity but are always busily striped.

Whipsnakes including coachwhips and the closely allied racers are a snake group that is all too often completely ignored by hobbyists. Although as adults many of the racers and coachwhips can be of dark and uniform color, many of the whipsnakes are colorful at hatching and remain so throughout their their lives. For example let’s take a look at the Striped Whipsnakes. The Central Texas subspecies, Masticophis taeniata girardi, ranges southward from Central Texas well into Mexico. In contrast the Desert subspecies, M. t. taeniata, ranges northwestward from western Texas and adjacent New Mexico to central Washington. Both subspecies are snakes of the thornscrub, shrubby western grasslands, rocky and scrubby deserts, and dry open forestlands.

Like all of the racers and whipsnakes, these two are oviparous and produce only a single clutch annually. Hatchlings measure about 15”; adults may attain a length of 5to 6 feet. Their slenderness and the speed with which they disappear between and behind desert shrubs often makes the adults seems smaller.

Of these 2, the Central Texas whipsnake is the darker, usually having only a single light ventrolateral stripe and light, elongate dorsolateral blotches on each side. The latter are most prominent anteriorly. Because it has numerous white stripes on each side the desert subspecies is much the lighter of the 2. Both have whitish chins, cream to yellowish bellies, and coral subcaudal scales. Hatchlings are much like the adults in color and pattern.

It seems probable that lizards are the primary prey of these whipsnakes, but they also eat insects, amphibians, birds, and small rodents.

When taken captive they are often nervous and should e provided with ample secure hiding areas. They soon quiet down but seem to always dislike being physically restrained.