Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been removing rattlesnakes out of peoples homes in the Santa Monica Mountain range Ca. for about four and a half years now! While talking snake's with my customers, most have never seen a Cal King. I get calls all the time for Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes, Gopher snakes, and even Racers. Only one time have I actually gone on a Cal King call (which remained on the property after I told the customer that it was her friend).
My question is; could the Cal King population be deminishing from our hills? We definatly have no shortage of food for them!
Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks:
Jason Mc

Maybe it depends on which part of the Santa Monica Mtns you're in. Were your removals in parts of the mountain range where the homes were in the Valley? I do a little bit of herping up in the Calabassas/Malibu area of the Santa Monicas, and last year around July & August I ran into a couple on the same trail same evening. Early this spring I found a large mating pair of Cal Kings and a bit up a trail I found what looked to be a yearling female in the Santa Susana foothills here in Chatsworth.

Chatsworth, CA
reako45

You probably don’t get many calls from residents involving kingsnakes because most people know they are not venomous, and like that Kingsnake girl want them left alone.

I think Cal Kings are more often "out and about" at night - definately more so than racers and perhaps even more than gopher and rattlesnakes.

Tim

California Herping Pictures

That would definatly explain why people arent seeing them.
Thanks for the reply:
Jason

The research I did in the Santa Monicas in the 1970s and 1980s indicated that Lampropeltis getula was relatively rare on the coastal side the range, but quite common on the inland side. But much of the recent development has occurred on land favored by this species.