KING SNAKE 
Not even the rattler is safe from the king snake. The king snake will eat 
other food such as eggs, but seems to prefer snakes. It is relatively im¬ 
mune to the venom of poisonous snakes and shows no hesitation in attacking 
any of them. It is, however, untrue that it likes poisonous snakes better 
than others. 
It kills mammals, usually small rodents, by constriction, squeezing 
them until death comes. With small snakes, however, it employs a differ¬ 
ent method, seizing them at any point and working upward with its jaws 
toward the head. The victim will continue to struggle until it has been 
completely swallowed, and sometimes even afterward. Reliable observers 
state that they saw a Florida king snake swallow a whip snake longer 
than itself down to the last inch of tail. Upon being startled, the king 
snake regurgitated with the suddenness of a released spring. Its victim 
lived for months after this experience and did not seem to be at all injured. 
Despite its pugnacious habits toward other snakes, the king snake 
is not hostile to man. It can be handled easily within a few moments after 
being captured. When first seized, however, it will hiss with a sneeze-like 
sound and emit an unpleasant scent from glands in the tail. A few indi¬ 
viduals, however, exhibit snappish ill-temper. 
Few species are more favorable for study and observation. They be¬ 
come very tame and are quite hardy, living for years. In captivity they eat 
mice and sparrows, smaller snakes, either dead or alive, and strips of raw 
beef. A large specimen of the king snake measures five feet. Their ten to 
twenty-four eggs hatch in five or six weeks. 
BLACK SNAKE 
The black snake, attaining a length of six feet, is believed to be the 
sworn enemy of the rattlesnake, to invite encounters with human beings, 
and to have the strength to crush an arm or leg into numbness. It is said 
to hypnotize birds and squirrels within reach of its jaws. 
These beliefs are totally unfounded. The black racer will attack and 
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