Milk Snake
(Lampropeltis triangulum)

Milk snakes are one of the most popular and easiest snakes to care for. Often times they are the very first snake that many people start keeping. One of the reasons the milk snake is so popular is that they now come in many beautiful colors and patterns, depending on the sub-species or particular breeding. Milk snakes are not a large snake and rarely grow larger than five feet in length, usually only reaching six inches to four feet long (depending on the subspecies).

Wild milk snakes can be from from southeastern Canada as far south as northern South America.

Difficulty

NOVICE: The milk snake is one of the best snakes to start with if you are new to keeping reptiles and amphibians.

Requirements

An enclosure, such as:

• Plastic shoe box container for younger milk snakes
• Plastic sweater box container for adult snakes
• Glass or acrylic aquarium (5 to 30 gallons, depending on the size of the milk snake) with a secure lid with clamps

Substrate, such as:

• Aspen wood shavings
• Indoor/outdoor carpeting
• Newspaper

A heating element, such as:

• Under the tank heater
• Incandescent heat bulb
• Ceramic infrared heat emitters

Enclosure

The size of the enclosure you will need for your milk snake depends on the size of the snake. Young hatchling milk snakes will often be timid and scared in too large of an enclosure while adult milk snakes will need a larger enclosure to move around in and feel more comfortable. For younger, smaller milk snakes, you can use a 5 gallon aquarium or a plastic shoe box container with a few small holes drilled at the top of the container to allow for ventilation. Adult milk snakes should be housed in a larger enclosure like a 30 gallon (or larger) aquarium or a plastic sweater box sized container with ventilation holes.

It is also important to provide your milk snake with an area to hide. There are many comercially available caves that can be purchased from your favorite pet supply store, or you can use things like flower pots, plastic containers, or just about anything that is big enough for your milk snake to completely crawl into and can provide a dark place to hide. Many hobbyists also like to decorate their enclosure with drift wood and other decoration. The choices are limitless and you can make your enclosure as sparse or as ornate as you wish, depending on your own desires.

Always remember that milk snakes, like all snakes are escape artists. They will always test your enclosure to see if they can get out. For this reason, you will always want to make sure that your enclosure has a secure lid that the snake can not push open. If using an aquarium, be sure to use a screen top with enough clamps to prevent the milk snake from pushing open the top. If using a plastic container, please be sure that the ventilation holes are small enough to prevent the snake from escaping. This is especially true for hatchling milk snakes.

Substrate

The substrate or bedding that you use is one of the most important parts of your milk snake's home, since your snake will be spending all of its time on it. Some of the best substrate is folded newspaper. While it is not the most visually appealing option, it is one of the easiest and cleanest. Indoor/Outdoor carpeting can also be used as an effective substrate for your snake. Be sure to have at least two identical pieces so that you can simply place the clean piece of carpeting in the enclosure while you rinse and disenfect the soiled piece. You can then allow the newly cleaned piece of carpeting to dry for the next days use. It's important to note that it is important to completely rinse the carpet after cleaning it to be sure there is no residual chemicals remaining on the carpet that could irritate your milk snake. Aspen wood shavings provide an excellent, absorbent choice for your milk snake as well. Be sure to stay away from cedar or pine shavings as these can cause health problems for your milk snake.

Heating and Light

Milk snakes like an ambient daytime temperature of 78°F to 82°F with nighttime temperatures of 65°F to 70°F. A basking spot of 85°F to 90°F should be provided during the day. These temperatures can be achieved by using under the tank heaters, incadescent basking bulbs, or ceramic emitters. We recommend using a timer to automatically turn off your daytime heating and lighting elements at night. It's important to check these temperatures regularly with a thermometer. Many hobbyists will install thermometers or thermostats in the enclsosure to be able to accurately maintain these temperatures. We do not recommend the use of any kind of heat rocks as they can often lead to burns on your milk snake.

Diet

Milk snakes can be fed mice their entire lives. Hatchling milk snakes will need to be fed pinkie or fuzzie mice, while adult milk snakes can be fed adult mice. It's important that you feed the appropriate sized mouse to your milk snake. If the mouse is too small, it may not be getting all the nutrtion that it needs, if it is too large it may spit the mouse back up. A good rule to follow is to feed mice that are about 1½ times the size of the largest portion of your milk snake's body. Generally your snake will only need to eat about once a week, but younger milk snakes may need to be fed more often. Your milk snake's appetite may also decrease in the winter months. As long as your snake still has good muscle tone, this is usually not anything to worry about. Fresh water should be provided at all times.

When feeding your milk snake, it is important that you feed it seperately from other snakes and in an area of the enclosure that is free from smaller wood shavings or other small items that could be inadvertently ingested with the food. We also find that thawed, pre-killed frozen rodents to provide the safest food source. Live mice can injur your milk snake during feeding. The freezing process will also kill most parasites that the mouse may be carrying. Most milk snakes will easily take to the thawed prey with little effort.