Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I have been trying to convince some local people that snakes are not bad for the area and should not be hunted and killed to "protect their families. The people told me they wouldn't leave poisonous snakes around to kill their children. I told them that although the copperhead and rattlesnake were poisonous the kingsnake and garter snake are not. The people then told me how the kingsnakes will mate with the copperheads and rattlesnakes and to prove it tell how their mother's brother's friend (or some similar story) saw it with is own eyes, and that the kingsnakes and some of the garters were a poisonous as the Copperheads and Rattle snakes.

I do not believe this is possable but before I make a judgement I want to know if this has ever happened or if this is even possible.

when I told the people that kingsnakes have been known to eat young copperheads they looked at me like I was crazy...

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1.1 ball pythons (Draco and Naga)
1.0 red tail boa (Malichi)
coming soon (well not that soon...need more space and tanks first)
1.0 blood python (lestat)

You are right.

First, Kings cannot (as far as I've learned) breed with that family of snakes.

Two: kings are not venemous (poisonous is not the correct term - venom is a poison but it's how it's administered that refers to the term).

Three: kings will and do (I've fed mine copperheads of equal size to the king) eat venemous snakes in North America; they are largely resistant to the venom of rattlesnakes and cottonmouths/copperheads but according to those who work with them, not coral snakes (although kings will kill and consume coral snakes).

They are not enemies of rattlers, etc. but rather generalists when it comes to feeding - a venemous snake is just another meal!

Tell your friends/local buddies, etc. that they are wrong on all accounts. Kingsnakes and (especially) Milksnakes do some serious rodent control as well as snake control!

-John

We sort of started calling the the 'brattler' myth on the forums. The type of snake with which the rattlers and coppers are supposed to hybridize varies depending on which region of the country you're from- around here it's black ratsnakes. I think the myth partly originated from rat and kingsnake's habits of rattling their tales when disturbed.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

Do I start laughing now???? Kingsnakes do not mate with Copperheads, rattlers or any kind of venomous snake. That is local folklore....plain and simple. Rank that piece of "wisdom with Hoopsnakes", cats stealing your breath and salamanders being born from a burning log!

Kingsnakes do not seek out Copperheads-but given the opportunity and the appetite, they will make a meal of one as soon as any other critter that is bite sized.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Here's a quote from Pennsylvania's Fish and Boat Commission concerning this wives tale......

"I heard that black rat snakes and copperheads are breeding and their offspring resemble the black rat snake but are as venomous as the copperhead. Is that true?

No, that’s false. It is impossible for the black rat snake and copperhead to successfully breed. These two species of snakes have two different reproductive strategies. The copperhead give birth to live young encased in a sac while the black rat snake lays eggs which then incubate for two to three months. These two distinctively contrasting methods of reproduction make it impossible for these to species to breed."
Pa. Fish and Boat Commission

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Ace