How to Identify the Mole Kingsnake (Identification Guide)

The Mole Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata) is a secretive, non-venomous kingsnake of the southeastern United States. It is a burrowing species with a smooth, glossy body and a subdued blotched pattern. This guide covers visual identification.

Key identifying features

Look for a slender-to-moderate, smooth-scaled snake with a shiny brown, tan, or grayish body marked by a series of darker reddish-brown or brown blotches down the back. The blotches are often faded and can be indistinct in older adults. The head is small and only slightly wider than the neck. Its glossy sheen, muted dorsal blotches, and burrowing habits distinguish it. Adults are typically 75 to 105 centimeters.

Coloration & pattern

The ground color is light brown, tan, gray, or reddish, overlaid with a row of 50 or more dark-edged reddish-brown or chocolate dorsal blotches, plus smaller alternating spots on the flanks. In many individuals the blotches are bordered narrowly with darker pigment. With age the pattern often fades, and some old adults become nearly patternless brown. The belly is pale, sometimes with faint square markings. The smooth scales give a distinct polished, oily sheen.

Head, eyes & scales

The head is small, rounded, and barely distinct from the neck, suited to burrowing. Eyes are relatively small with round pupils, as in all kingsnakes. There may be a faint dark line or blotches on the head. The dorsal scales are smooth and glossy, an important mark separating kingsnakes from keeled-scaled snakes like watersnakes. Head shields are the enlarged, symmetrical plates typical of colubrids.

Size & body shape

The body is moderately slender and cylindrical, without strong keels or ridges, tapering to a modest tail. The overall build is that of a smooth, polished, ground-and-burrow snake rather than a heavy-bodied or strongly patterned species. This unassuming, glossy brown appearance is characteristic.

Range & habitat

The Mole Kingsnake occurs across the southeastern and mid-Atlantic United States, favoring open fields, pastures, pine woods, and sandy or loamy soils where it can burrow. It is highly fossorial and often found underground or under debris, so surface sightings are relatively uncommon.

How to tell it apart from look-alikes

It can be confused with young ratsnakes, cornsnakes, or watersnakes. Cornsnakes have bolder, brighter orange-and-black blotches and a spear-shaped head marking, while the Mole Kingsnake's blotches are duller and browner. Watersnakes have keeled scales and a more banded, less glossy look, and are associated with water. The Mole Kingsnake's smooth glossy scales, faded reddish-brown blotches, small burrowing head, and preference for dry open ground help set it apart. When checking scale texture, run the eye along the back for any ridges: the complete absence of keels, giving a wet, polished look, immediately rules out watersnakes and juvenile ratsnakes with keeled or weakly keeled scales. The number of dorsal blotches is also high, often 50 or more, distinguishing it from snakes with fewer, larger saddles. Combined with round pupils and the reddish-brown, dark-edged blotches fading toward a plain brown in old adults, these marks confirm a Mole Kingsnake.