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Kingsnake, also known as the Emperor Snake. Lampropeltis (scientific name: Lampropeltis) is a genus of snakes in the family Snakeidae, a genus of snakes in the suborder Snakeidae. Among them is the famous milk snake. The scientific name of the genus "Lampropeltis" is derived from the Greek word "λαμπρο?", which means "shining scale armor", describing the richly colored back scales of the snake genus King Snake.

Introduction to King Snake

The genus Lampropeltis is a 7 species of medium- to large-sized terrestrial snakes found from southeastern Canada to Ecuador. Adult snakes are generally 1~1.5 meters (3.3~5 feet) long, but some are up to 2.1 meters long. King snakes are large, non-venomous migratory snakes that feed on a wide range of species, including small mammals, birds, snakes, lizards, amphibians, and bird eggs. King snakes are a sign of nervousness and often twitch their tails. The reason why the king snake is called the king snake must have its place over the snake, which is not poisonous itself, but feeds on the poisonous snake, the reason is that it is almost immune to the poison of the poisonous snake, and often feeds on rattlesnakes or copper-spotted snakes in the place of origin. Of course, other small mammals such as lizards, rats, and birds are also its food sources, and king snakes generally suffocate their prey by pythons before swallowing them. If there are rodents in someone's home area, as long as they keep a king snake, they will be extinct within a radius of a few kilometers.

class

The common king snake (Lampropeltisgetulus, with 7 subspecies) is widespread in the United States and northern Mexico; It is usually dark or dark brown with a variety of yellow or white stripes, rings, horizontal stripes or spots. The albino emperor snake (Lampropeltisgetulacaliforniae) has two patterns on its body, namely the common ring pattern and a rarer stripe form; Both of these patterns may appear in a nest of eggs. King snakes get their name from feeding on other snake species, including rattlesnakes and copperheads, and king snakes are immune to their venom. Sometimes the same kind even kill each other. The lifespan in a cage can be more than 30 years. 5~24 eggs are laid at a time.

Other 6 species of king snakes have rings in three colors: red, black, and yellow. The common milking snake (L. triangulatum, about 25 tri-colored subspecies) has the widest range, from 48°N to 4°S. The average body length is 1 meter (the largest is 1.9 meters). The Scarlet King Snake (Triangulumelapsoides, some believe it is a type of milking snake) is a small species in the southeastern United States that feeds on lizards. Milking snakes and scarlet king snakes are often referred to as false coral snakes because they mimic the colors and patterns of venomous coral snakes. King snakes belong to the group of swimming snakes (Colubridae). At present, the taxonomy of the genus King Snake is still under discussion, and it is believed that King Snake should not become an independent snake genus. In the case of the Santa Catalina king snake (Lampropeltiscatalinensis), for example, there is only one species at all, and it seems that there is no need to separate it into separate species. In addition, the presence of some hybrid king snakes has led to a lack of clear description of the exact geographical distribution of various species, which has caused many biologists and taxonomists considerable headaches.

species

King Cobra (Ophiophagushannah) Grey-banded King Snake (Lampropeltisalterna, Brown, 1901) Steppe King Snake (Lampropeltiscalligaster) Santa Catalina Island King Snake (Lampropeltiscatalinensis, Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921) California King Snake (Lampropeltisgetula) Mexican King Snake (Lampropeltismexicana) Alpine King Snake (Lampropeltispyromelana) Luyunni King Snake (Lampropeltisruthveni, Blanchard, 1920) Milk snake (Lampropeltistriangulum) Sinaloa king snake (Lampropeltiswebbi, Bryson, Dixon & Lazcano, 2005) California king snake (Lampropeltiszonata).

temperament

The king snake is a mild snake in the United States, there are eight species in the world, among which the California king snake is more common, although the king snake is a mild snake, but if it is threatened by life, it will also hiss and fight back, sometimes it will roll into a sphere and spray excrement to the enemy, the wild more robust desert king snake will also devour the rattlesnake that belongs to the same snake family. As long as you don't scratch the snake too hard, it rarely bites.

feeding

The king snake has a gentle temperament, low life requirements, and is easy to take care of, and is a common pet snake. King snakes can be fed with rodents of the appropriate size, even live, killed, or even refrigerated rodents (although it is recommended to feed them with refrigerated rodents to prevent live rats from turning upside down and biting king snakes while struggling). King snakes are interesting and gentle snakes that rarely bite and are also played with by their bare hands. According to the keepers, the king snake is more attracted to the light displayed on the television. Although the king snake has the reputation of the emperor, but there are also times when it eats "yourself" by mistake, for example, there was a king snake (Kingsnake), because of too much hunger, even unaware of the mouth to swallow its snake tail into the stomach, due to the snake's teeth bite so that the snake tail can not get rid of, forming an interesting self-eating phenomenon, fortunately its owner found that it was sent to the hospital to rescue the trouble.

Parasitic disease control

There are a variety of parasites in the body of king snakes. Parasitic diseases can weaken the body and cause other diseases, and in severe cases, they often lead directly to death.

Prevention and control methods:

(1) Schizocephalic larvae are the larvae of tapeworms, and snakes are the second intermediate host of Schizocephalus montoni. Schizocephalus larvae are mostly parasitic under the skin and generally do little harm to snakes.

If the larvae parasitize under the epidermis of the snake's body, the skin can be cut open with a sharp knife and removed, and then 1%~2% iodine tincture can be applied to the wound. Schizocephalus parasitizes other sites and does not require specific treatment, but can be treated with other parasites.

(2) The whip tongue worm is parasitic in the lungs and trachea of snakes, which is very harmful and can suffocate snakes to death.

This parasite can be infused into the stomach with veterinary trichlorfon solution, administered at 0.01 grams per kilogram of body weight, and continuously gavaged for 3 days.

(3) The rod nematode parasitizes in the alveolar cavity and spreads densely in the affected part for a long time, causing the snake lungs to erode and die.

Tetraimidazole for treatment is given 0.1~0.2 mg per kilogram of body weight.

(4) Heterobidiscium parasitizes the gallbladder of snakes.

(5) Tick lice Tick lice is an infectious disease caused by poor environmental conditions in cages and feeding environments.

Ticks and lice can reduce the serum protein of the snake body and transmit pathogens, bring strong adverse stimuli to the host, reduce immunity, and often lead to systemic diseases.

Lice usually inhabit the hollows around the eyes, throat and cloaca. Once a tick is found on a snake's body, it must be treated continuously, even if it has been in contact with a diseased snake. Ticks and lice can be found in the water after a few minutes of immersion in the snake, which can be used to determine whether there is a tick or lice on the snake's body.