Click on pictures to enlarge
(Lampropeltis getula)
Identification: Upper scales smooth (unkeeled),
black or dark brown, with either yellowish speckling or broad whitish or
yellowish bands; single anal scale; usually two rows of scales on underside of
tail; maximum total length about 183 cm (72 inches) but usually less than 100 cm
(39 inches).
Colorado Distribution:
Known from a few locations in
southeastern Colorado (north to the vicinity of the Arkansas River) and a few
sites in extreme southwestern Colorado (western Montezuma County), at elevations
below about 5,200 feet. Generally difficult to find but may be locally fairly
common in the very restricted range in Colorado.
| Habitat:
Generally
associated with lowland river valleys. Western
Colorado: has been found in a
semiagricultural situation in the broad bottom of a canyon through which a
permanent stream flows and in low, hilly semidesert shrubland above the San Juan
River. Southeastern Colorado: has been found near irrigated fields on the
floodplain of the Arkansas River, in rural residential areas in plains
grassland, near stream courses, and in other areas dominated by shortgrass
prairie. Most activity occurs on the ground or in rodent burrows. Periods of
inactivity are spent in burrows and logs, in or under old buildings, in other
underground spaces, or beneath various types of cover. |
 |
 |
Life History:
Females produce a clutch of eggs
usually between mid-June and late July. Hatchlings emerge in mid- to late August
or September. This constrictor preys on a wide assortment of mammals, birds,
reptiles, and amphibians, including the eggs of reptiles and birds. Most
foraging occurs on the ground surface or in burrows.
Revised: July 24, 2003