San Luis Potosi king snakes (sometimes simply referred to as a “Mex-Mex” kingsnake) are native to Mexico in the central, high altitude, mountainous state of San Luis Potosi. They inhabit arid rocky hillsides and high elevation woodland where they remain hidden during the day and venture out at night to hunt. Their wild diet mostly consists of other reptiles like small lizards, but they are opportunistic feeders so would also prey upon amphibians and any small rodents they can find. They are one of the smaller king snake species in captivity and unlike their larger cousins such as the Californian Kingsnake or Mexican Black kingsnake they don’t tend to be aggressive and rarely if ever bite. They can be tricky to get started with feeding when young but once established they are a hardy and rewarding species to keep, they are appropriate as a beginner pet snake species and can be handled regularly without issue. Their smaller size may even make them better suited than corn snakes as a first pet snake for those with limited space. The attractive markings of red grey and black banding is the standard colouration for them but we also produce the rarer “granite” morph where they have minimal red markings and the bands are broken up into a grey and black speckled pattern, the granite phase tend to turn quite dark in colouration as they mature.