Species
Mole kingsnake
Lampropeltis rhombomaculata
A secretive, burrowing kingsnake of Georgia's Piedmont with faded red-brown blotches.
Photo Jay Brasher (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- Usually 75 to 100 cm long
- Habitat
- Fields, open woods and farmland with loose soil
- Diet
- Mice, moles, lizards and snakes
- In Georgia
- The Piedmont and upper Coastal Plain
- Venomous
- No
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Brown or reddish-brown with small, dark-edged blotches, fading with age; small head
- Told apart from
- Red cornsnake, which has larger blotches and a spear-shaped head mark
- Where to look
- Rarely seen; most often crossing roads after rain
Behaviour
It lives almost entirely underground, in rodent burrows and loose soil, and appears at the surface mainly after heavy rain.
Why they matter
It hunts rodents and moles underground where few other predators reach.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Usually 5 to 15
Nest — Underground
Incubation — About 6 to 10 weeks
Hatchlings — Brightly blotched
Maturity — In a few years
Lifespan — Over 10 years
Living around people
- It is harmless.
Misconceptions
- Blotched snakes are copperheads. This one is a harmless kingsnake.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Underground | Underground | Underground | Emerging | Mating | Laying | Underground | Hatching | Active after rain | Underground | Underground | Underground |
Where it lives
Recorded in 7 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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