Vet plan is in the works. My first thought was neurological, but he's displayed zero signs or symptoms of any kind to suggest that other than the "on the back" pose: no reduced mobility or coordination, total awareness and response. He's in warm water right now (to check for visible release of mites) and is moving and alert just fine: activity and response levels normal, even optimum. Nothing that I would associated with a neurological thing.

I've heard that a whole lot of "Mexican Black Kingsnakes" (Lampropeltis getula nigrita) in captivity are actually Desert Black Kingsnakes, a regional color variant of the regular Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula splendida), which is known to "play dead". I've found a few references to people encountering this behavior in Speckled Kingsnakes.

Is it possible my king is a Black Desert, not a Mexican Black, and is just exhibiting a previously undisplayed sub-species quirk? (I'm still super paranoid and concerned, but also trying to leave room for optimism, as there's no point in disregarding a possible simple and healthy explanation.)

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