Types

• The San Diego Zoo says that kingsnake species have many animals on their menus and the reptiles will not discriminate, eating whatever it can overpower. The kingsnakes have strong stomach acids that can eventually digest creatures such as turtles, birds, lizards, rodents, small mammals and other snakes. The eggs of birds and different sorts of reptiles are also edible for a kingsnake.
  
  

Tolerating Venom

• The kingsnake does not have immunity to the venom of poisonous species such as the copperhead, rattlesnake and coral snake. However, the kingsnake can risk an attack on these dangerous snakes. The kingsnake can tolerate the venom if bitten because it possesses a certain enzyme in its system that will act to break down any toxins introduced through a bite, states Desert USA.
  
  

Hunting Technique

• The kingsnake is not venomous and must depend on first finding prey by scent and then being able to kill it. The kingsnakes are constrictors; after biting prey, much like snakes such as pythons and boas, they use their muscular coils to wrap around the animal. The kingsnake tightens its muscles, resulting in a squeezing action that prevents the victim from breathing. After the prey succumbs, the kingsnake will swallow it all at once, unhinging its jaws if need be to handle large meals. The kingsnake will target other snakes for the simple fact that they are much easier to swallow due to their shape.
  
  

Misconceptions

• One type of kingsnake, the milk snake, is the focus of a ridiculous old wives' tale. Because the milk snake frequently inhabits barns, the myth arose that it could rise up and gain access to a cow's udders, effectively milking the cow--a tale that gave the species its name. However, the milk snake uses barns as a home or as a place to search for food because of the presence of rodents such as rats and mice, and not because it craves cow's milk.
  
  

Considerations

• Kingsnakes often are active around sunset and sunrise; during hot summers in much of its range, the kingsnake hunts only at night to escape the heat. After having a large meal, the kingsnake typically does not have to eat for many days afterward. Depending on the species and their locations, certain kingsnakes eat more of one animal than of others. For example, according to the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians," the gray-banded kingsnake of the deserts of southwestern Texas eats more lizards than anything else.