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It’s amazing how animals are great at camouflaging themselves. Take the speckled kingsnake for example. Speckled kingsnakes are large (up to 6 feet long, usually 3-4 feet in length), and shiny black snakes that are covered with yellow spots. This yellow or white spot is found in the center of most scales, which makes the snake look speckled. This coloration and pattern allow them to blend into the forest floor, resembling the sunlight that is coming through the tree leaves.
You will find speckled kingsnakes in a variety of habitats from prairies to wooded hillsides. They are rather secretive and take shelter under rocks, logs, and in small mammal burrows. Kingsnakes eat rodents, lizards, and other snakes including venomous species such as copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes because they are immune to their venom. Kingsnakes will vibrate their tail when alarmed and may try to bite when captured. They will smear a foul-smelling musk onto your hands as well, so it is best, as with any wildlife, to observe them from a distance.
Stop by Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center, Tuesday-Friday 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM, or Saturdays 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM, to check out our speckled kingsnake and other critters on exhibit. Afterward, take a hike on one of our trails and enjoy our great outdoors. For more information on speckled kingsnakes visit Speckled Kingsnake | Missouri Department of Conservation (mo.gov).
 Speckeled Kingsnake eating a Copperhead
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