zombie fungus in King snake?

[Loohan]

I saw this little guy all tied up in a knot. He was writhing around occasionally, and chewing on his tail.

 

[zovick]

I saw this little guy all tied up in a knot. He was writhing around occasionally, and chewing on his tail.

It is not a Zombie fungus, and the snake is not chewing on its own tail. If you look closely, the King Snake is eating what appears to be a Ringneck Snake. You can see the difference in the color of the ventral scales between the two different snakes. The Kingsnake's underside is yellowish while the Ringneck Snake has an orange belly.

The dorsal scales are also different colors on the two snakes.

Nice photo, though!

 

[Loohan]

Ah so! When i went back a few minutes later, it was gone. Glad the king snake is OK.
Don't think i've seen a ringneck before.

 

[TammyJ]

Very interesting!

 

[Ergotaxon]

That’s awesome! Where did you see this?

 

[Loohan]

That’s awesome! Where did you see this?

On my driveway in north central Arkansas.

 

[DoubleD1996!]

That's why they call em king snakes😂. I saw one munching on a copper head weaved between bricks

 

[Ergotaxon]

On my driveway in north central

It looks like a speckled king snake. They are native to my home state of Texas. I didn’t know that they have such a large range. I’m glad I saw your picture.

 

[Loohan]

I've seen a few more of this type here over the years.

 

[Ergotaxon]

I've seen a few more of this type here over the years.

A captive bred king snake makes a great pet.

 

[Loohan]

Dang, just now, possibly the same snake crossed my path in the driveway. Looked a bit fatter as one might expect if it had just eaten another snake.