Gray-Banded Kingsnake

(L. alterna)

Found by Nathan Wells on Juno Rd. in June of 2004

Size: Up to 4 feet but more commonly around 2-3 ft.

Range in Texas: Only the arid western portions of the state and usually only found in the rockier areas. west to Hudspeth County, east to Val Verde/Kinney Counties south into the Big Bend region and North to the Guadalupe Mountains.

Comments: The most sought after snake in Texas. Collectors come from around the country to collect alterna. Although I have not personally found alterna in Hudspeth County, they have been found in the Eagle Mountains and in the Hueco Tanks Area. They have been rumored to have been found in the Quitman Mountains area. I personally stopped a herper from Arizona in 1999 coming out of the South Eagles from the Indian Hot Springs area that claims to have found two. If you have never found an Alterna and wish to do so, your best bet is to look in the Eastern portion of its range, just West or North of Del Rio, Texas. Most collectors have found them to most numerous in that area. I found my first on Hwy 90 near the Pecos high bridge.