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kings and indigos are lucky

mrrooster2u Feb 21, 2004 07:07 PM

It is a good thing nature never intended for pituophis to eat other snakes... Because if they did, Kings and Indigos in the wild would be extinct!!! Lol...

Replies (10)

electricbluescat Feb 21, 2004 08:42 PM

I doubt it lol the giant southern eastern kingsnakes take on the largest venomous snake in north america the eastern diamond back rattlesnake. Keith wanna step in here and post that pic of the eastern king taking the rattler. Any other snake that tried this would be killed or if not killed seriously injured.
Some of the southern eastern kingsnakes push 7 ft if not more.
they dont call them kingsnakes for nothing.

just my 2 cents,
john

meretseger Feb 21, 2004 10:56 PM

Ok.. well.. what if a kingsnake tried to eat a king ratsnake* ? Or vice versa?

*Elaphe carinata
-----
"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

electricbluescat Feb 21, 2004 11:44 PM

I have a friend who used to live Florida. he told me he's seen eastern kings eating the indigos.

They don't call them kings for nothing. Keith where are you man?

john

DeanAlessandrini Feb 22, 2004 02:01 PM

I'm sure kings eat the occasional young indigo.

Indigos have been scientifically documented to consume alomost every snake native to their home range, including all of the venomous...indigos eat kingsnakes, including large ones quite regularly in S. Florida. In N Fl and S GA, the kings seem smart enough to stay away from the indigos!

Kerby... Feb 22, 2004 12:06 AM

Sonoran Gopher snakes here in Arizona can and do eat rattlesnakes. Back in in the 1990's I was visiting a cerb den and noticed that there were 2 Sonoran Gophers snakes there that year. The smaller gopher snake had a huge bulge in it. Too large of a bulge for it's small head to have stretched, so... I took that small gopher snake home out of curiosity. A few days later he passed a normal poop but still had a bulge. A couple of more days later he regurged an undigested rattlesnake head with about 6 inches of vertabrae. Prior to that year I never saw gopher snakes at the den site. But that year there were 2 there and obviously eating some rattlesnakes during their visit.

Kerby...

oldherper Feb 23, 2004 03:23 PM

and admitted that Indigos are the best snakes...Top Dawgs and the undisputed Rulers of the Forest.

thomas davis Feb 24, 2004 12:04 AM

indigos are great but they are NOT kings, definately royalty but by no means "topdawg" kingsnakes "getula" mainly are the kings of this land. i guess we could call indigos second best but really w/all the kingsnake ssp.getula,calligaster,thayeri,alterna,elapsoides,pyro,etc,etc
indigos are kinda like "the kings fool or jester" still royalty,though,kinda,,,,,,,,,thomas

oldherper Feb 24, 2004 07:00 AM

It's such a sad thing to see in a person...

All in fun....

thomas davis Feb 24, 2004 08:55 AM

come now dont be sad indigos are still OK snakes,,,,,,,just not a king kind of a king wannabe though,,,,,,,,,thomas

oldherper Feb 24, 2004 09:36 AM

Thomas, Thomas.....Still in denial, huh? Therapy may help...I'm sure there's somebody out there that specializes in this sort of thing.

Lampropeltis are nice snakes..I have a bunch of them. And a bunch of Drymarchon, too. King Snakes are also pretty tough customers. But, I wouldn't put a King Snake of any size that I was interested in keeping into the same cage with one of my adult Indigos. There's no reason to be upset about it, man...Kingsnakes are tops within their own frame of reference. It's not really second-best, you know. When you get into Drymarchon, though...well it's a whole difference class of critters...a new ball-game. A King Snake of any size that I've ever seen or heard of that tried to constrict one of my big Indigos would simply get beheaded for his efforts. Ugh..that was a nasty visual..I think I'll stick with rats and chicks and keep my Kingsnakes.

(still all in fun....)

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