They are easily mistaken for various species of rat snake of the genus Pantherophis, which share habitat, and can have similar markings.

[3] Prairie kingsnakes' preferred habitat is open grassland with loose, dry soil, typically on the edge of a forested region, not far from a permanent source of water.

Like most colubrids, if harassed they will shake their tail, which if in dry leaf litter can sound remarkably like a rattlesnake.

[citation needed] They are often found in abandoned structures, underneath logs, debris, and inside of tree trunks.

[4] Elements of the mole kingsnake's reproduction corresponds, in part, to the general colubrid mating pattern.