Harmless · Native to the United States

Eastern kingsnake

Lampropeltis getula (Linnaeus, 1766)

Also called chain kingsnake, common kingsnake
Data updated October 2026

Eastern kingsnake on the forest floor, showing thin white chain-like bands across a glossy black body
Fig. 1 — Adult showing the thin light crossbands that link along the sides into a chain pattern.
Close view of an eastern kingsnake's small black head with pale spots and light lip scales
Fig. 2 — The small head barely widens past the neck; the lips are pale with black edges.

At a glance

A big, glossy black constrictor of the Atlantic Coast states, banded with thin white or yellow links. It eats other snakes, copperheads included, and shrugs off pit viper venom. It has declined in parts of its range.

01

Identification

The eastern kingsnake is a large, stout snake that is shiny black to chocolate brown, crossed by narrow white to yellowish bands. The bands fork on the lower sides and join their neighbors, so the pattern looks like a chain. Scales are smooth and glossy, and the small head is barely wider than the neck. Young look like small adults. On North Carolina’s Outer Banks many are brownish with light speckling, and some mountain animals have bands broken into small spots. Since 2009 several kingsnakes once lumped under this name have been treated as separate species; the name Lampropeltis getula now covers the chain-patterned kingsnake from southern New Jersey to northern Florida.

  1. 01Chain pattern. Thin light crossbands over the back that split and link along the sides.
  2. 02Glossy black body. Smooth, shiny scales on a black or very dark brown background.
  3. 03Small head, pale lips. The head is no wider than the neck, with white or yellow spots and light lip scales edged in black.

Commonly confused with

02

Size

01 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft Typical adult · about 42 in (107 cm)

Most adults measure 36 to 48 inches (90–122 cm), and big ones pass 5 feet. The record is about 82 inches (208 cm). Males tend to be larger than females. Hatchlings are roughly 9 to 12 inches (24–32 cm) long.

03

Range & habitat

Eastern kingsnake crossing open ground at the edge of a pine woodland
Fig. 3 — Kingsnakes use pine and hardwood forest, old fields and wetland edges.

Eastern kingsnakes live along the Atlantic side of the country, from southern New Jersey, the northern edge of the range, south through the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of Virginia and the Carolinas to Georgia and northern Florida. In Florida they reach south to about a line from Pinellas to Flagler counties and west into the Panhandle. They are scarce in the mountains. Habitat is broad: pine and hardwood forest, old fields, swamp edges, marshes and stream banks, often near water. They also live on farms and in suburbs, hiding under boards, logs, tin and other debris.

State guides: Florida

04

Diet & predators

Kingsnakes are powerful constrictors and are best known for eating other snakes. Recorded prey includes garter, water, rat, hognose and ring-necked snakes, black racers, and venomous copperheads and rattlesnakes. They are immune to the venom of pit vipers such as copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. They also take mice and voles, lizards and skinks, newts and frogs, and the eggs of turtles and ground-nesting birds.

Feeds on

  • Other snakes, including copperheads
  • Mice and voles
  • Lizards and skinks
  • Turtle and bird eggs

Preyed on by

  • People (killing and road traffic)
  • Hawks and owls (mainly young snakes)
  • Raccoons and other mid-sized mammals
Eastern copperhead in leaf litter
Prey — eastern copperhead.
Clutch of white turtle eggs in a sandy nest
Prey — turtle eggs.

What eats copperheads? The full food web →

05

Behavior & seasons

Eastern kingsnakes live on the ground and rarely climb. They are mostly active by day, though they move more at dusk and night in summer heat. When disturbed one may vibrate its tail, hide its head under its coils, or bite; when picked up it often smears a foul musk from glands at the base of the tail. Temperament varies a lot from snake to snake. They are not dangerous to people or pets.

In Virginia they are active mainly from April to October, with records from late March to mid-November and the odd winter sighting. They spend the cold months sheltered out of sight.

06

Reproduction

Kingsnakes lay eggs. Breeding runs from about mid-March through June, and rival males may wrestle, twining their bodies and pressing each other to the ground. Females lay eggs in early summer, usually in mid- to late June in Virginia. Clutches range from 3 to 24 eggs, most often around 10 to 13. The eggs take roughly 8 to 11 weeks to hatch, depending on temperature, and young appear in August and September.

07

Conservation

The eastern kingsnake is not federally listed, but biologists have documented steep declines in many populations in the Southeast over recent decades, sometimes without a clear cause. In New Jersey it is a species of special concern, and killing one there is illegal. Habitat loss, road deaths, deliberate killing and illegal collecting for the pet trade are the main threats named by state biologists.

08

In captivity

Kingsnakes are long-standing favorites in the pet trade, and captive-bred animals are widely available, so there is no reason to take one from the wild. An adult is a strong, curious snake that needs a roomy, escape-proof enclosure with secure hiding places and a water bowl. In captivity they are usually fed appropriately sized rodents.

Because kingsnakes eat other snakes, they are housed one per enclosure. Wild-caught collecting is restricted in some states, and New Jersey lists illegal collection as a threat to its population, so check your state’s wildlife rules before acquiring one.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages