Are kingsnakes...

Tigergenesis · 03-23-04, 11:56 AM

nocturnal, diurnal or crepuscular? I'm having a hard time finding this info.

Thanks!

Drew S · 03-23-04, 12:09 PM

They are mainly nocturnal, and mine seems the most active at dusk.

C.m.pyrrhus · 03-23-04, 01:52 PM

Depends on the species. Time of year also plays a role.

Take for instance here in AZ. We have Mountain Kings which for the most part are diurnal, spending probably the best amount of their daytime hours out during the afternoons. Rarely have they been seen out during the night. California Kings during the early spring may be mostly diurnal, but move to a more crepescular and nocturnal lifestyle as the summer days grow hotter. Milks are known to be out late at night on really cool nights, so each in their own right carry there active hours very differently.

If you are interested in any given species, take a look around at some natural history reports on them. You will see within the species that they carry there active times doing a lot of different things. Not as simple as say, Thamnophis, as we all know when they are out.

Bighead · 03-23-04, 02:20 PM

The first snake I ever had was a California king I found in the middle of the afternoon on a hot day going down some railroad tracks. The only snakes I had ever seen in that area (northern CA) were garters and gopher snakes, so to see something so cool looking was a treat. I picked him up and he bit me, so I took him home. I kept him for a few months and then my mom found out, so he got to be free back out in the wild again. I've wanted a pair ever since.

Katt · 03-23-04, 06:19 PM

I think they're pretty much whenever, whatever! They seem pretty general when it comes to things.

KingFfaj · 03-24-04, 05:36 AM

you have to remember there eye pupils are round so, they cant see very well in the dark, but they are opertunistic and will pretty much eat any time.
sunrise and set are the normal times to see them roaming

Will · 03-24-04, 01:04 PM

Not sure if eye shape has much to do with how well they see at night. Owls have round pupils(although proportionately larger), and they've got great night vision. Most snakes have very poor sight day or night, so the fact that they can't see well shouldn't dictate when they come out. I would guess that their cycles are dictated more by when their natural choice of prey(mice, lizards, frogs etc) are more likely to be out and about, and the patterns of animals that prey on the snakes themselves. Mice and frogs are for sure out more at night, so it's would be safe to assume that the snakes that eat those would likely be out at the same time. No point in coming out during the day when the prey isn't likely to be there. Lizards are out during the day, so species that prefer those would be out during the day...

Just a thought...

C.m.pyrrhus · 03-24-04, 07:45 PM

Quote:

you have to remember there eye pupils are round so, they cant see very well in the dark,

So then venomous species are nocturnal due to there elliptical pupil shape? Night snakes snakes are heavily diurnal because of their pupil shape?

.......

Pupil shape has nothing to do at all with day or night activity. It would make it certainly a heck of a lot easier on us herpers to find them if that was the case. Sure would be hard for Cali Kings to devour rattlers if they never were out during the same time of day then huh?

Lampropeltis species are all highly different of one another. Some are highly diuranl, while others nocturnal. Some can be a bit diurnal, nocturnal and/or crepescular. What they feed on, where they live and how they deal with daily life plays a role more so than eye shape...

KingFfaj · 03-25-04, 09:46 AM

ok my bad.
What do u propose an elliptical eye is for then?

M_surinamensis · 03-25-04, 09:54 AM

Beau's description of the behavioral pattern is dead on... some kingsnake species will tend more towards one direction or the other but it's generally dictated by environmental conditions rather than as an absolute. Basically, they are active when the temperature is right and the temperature changes with the seasons.

crimsonking · 03-31-04, 11:05 PM

As most have said, it varies from species to species and from "season to season". While I have never found a Florida king " out and about" at night, I have found many scarlet kings then. And both at dawn and dusk. I have no experience with any others in the wild, but weather, temps, and opportunity for a mate or a meal it seems dictate the majority of their roamings.
:Mark