Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just want too post some pics of my local kingsnakes.

I feel like a idiot now I spelled prairie wrong lol

Happens to everyone. Those are some lovely calligasters! Where are you located? (State is fine, not looking for exact location...)
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Diego

SWCHR

I love Prairie Kings and yours are awesome. Are they WC? I'm hoping for a pair someday.

reako45

Your prairie kings are fox snakes.

I thought someting was funny, but vulpina it is I guess. Was it the head that gave it away for you (?), as that's what was stumping me in silence over here....
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Jerry Kruse

"Yesterday is history.....tomorrow is a mystery.........but today is a gift -- that is why it is called the present". - Master Oogway

I guess the head was the first clue. Then the body, then the pattern. No question that they're foxes.

FYI, I like & have both species.

rilly but im shure the little one is a king right before i posted the pics it made me wonder a little i have caught fox snakes in my area before but all of them have had orange on there jaw plz give me more info if you can

Anal plate divided?
Undivided = king.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Fox snakes have a more elongated head than prairie kings. Prairie kings also have very little neck constriction & their bodies are more cylindrical than rat snakes. Think inner tube (king) v.s. loaf of bread (rat snake).

Kings have smooth scales. Fox snakes have mildly keeled scales.
Fox snakes often have red "cheeks", but not always.

I don't have a field guide in front of me, but I didn't think the ranges of the 2 species overlap.

Let me guess...Were they found in IL? Prairie kings are also found in the state.

There's a pic of a prairie king in the following post.

They overlap with the prairie kingsnake range a little bit up here in Indiana. Still, I'd be surprised to hear of both being found at the same spots. Fox snakes in general are a more northern snake.

Had me fooled. The resemblance is amazing!

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Diego

SWCHR

Hey Paul, nice to have ya! Those snakes fooled me too. Glad you could drop a line and keep everything on the up and up.

I looked @ the markings on the head, and... anyway, don't i feel stupid. I guess I can give the lame excuse of "Well neither species is native to me, so how should I be expected to recognize them?" LOL.

reako45

im not realy a snake expert but i first caught a little one then looked it up and it looked like a king snake and the other reason i thought they were kings because i found them in burrows and dug them out

I think very few of us are snake experts. I am pretty sure they fooled more than just one or two guys here.

Cool find, regardless. I love fox snakes. They tend to be more active than prairie kings so they'll need more space.

Don't worry about misidentifying them. One of the nice aspects of these forums is if you aren't sure what kind of snake you've encountered, you can just post the picture (on the "What Kind of Snake is This" forum) & someone will ID it for you.

If its any consolation, I have a tough time differentiating baby black rats & fox snakes.

Good luck with your foxes.

PB

(Hey Joe!)

Didn't I read somewhere that you were in TN?
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Diego

SWCHR