Milk snakes will inhabit a variety of habitats and are often found around farm sheds and barns. They can also be found on forest edges, streams, woodlands, and in suburbs. Milk snakes are secretive so they will stay out of sight under logs, trash or garbage. They are harmless to humans but if provoked will vibrate and release a musk from their tails and can bite but their venom is not fatal.

During the spring and the fall, the milk snakes are diurnal while they become nocturnal during the summer. On few occasions milk snakes can also be seen sunning in the open. The milk snakes can also endure extreme temperatures.

Milk Snake Description

Do Milk Snakes drink milk?
There is a story that milk snakes drink the milk from a cow's udders, however this is a myth, but apparently this is how the snake received its name.

What do they look like?
These are some of the most beautiful snakes, they come in a variety of colors, depending on the subspecies.  Most of them have colored bands down the length of their bodies, in alternating colors. In many cases, there are three distinct colors (black, white and red) present within these bands, which is why the milk snakes are sometimes called tri-colored snake.

Milk Snakes are found throughout most of North America and Central America.

The milk snake is covered in smooth scales, giving it a typically shiny or glossy appearance.  Milk snakes mimic coral snakes in appearance, with bands of red, black and yellow and this adaptation may sometimes protect the snake from predators.

Milk snakes can be heavy bodied or slim. Depends on its subspecies.

Milk snakes come in 2 general patterns:

These snakes do reach fairly large sizes, with some specimens reaching 6 - 7 feet (1.8m) in length.  Typically though, Milk snakes will reach 3 - 4  feet (1.5 m) in length.

Do they bite?
Milk snakes are shy, secretive creatures. They can be flighty and nervous but will not bite unless provoked.

How long do they live?
These snakes have been known to live 12 years or more in captivity.

Milk Snake Behaviour

Milk snakes are primarily nocturnal and therefore rarely spotted in the day. They will hide under logs or boxes you provide.

Milk Snake Diet in the Wild

The adult milk snake's main food source is small rodents, such as mice, rats, and voles. They occasionally eat birds, bird eggs, frogs, fish, insects, earthworms, slugs, lizards, other snakes, and snake eggs as well. Milk snakes kill their prey by constriction and then swallow them whole. Young milk snakes typically eat slugs, insects, and earthworms.

Milk Snake Diet in captivity

As snakes are carnivores it is the pet owner’s responsibility to provide prey. In captivity snakes usually eat store bought frozen mice. Hatchlings will eat either "Pinkies" which are newborn mice without fur or "Fuzzies" which are slightly large mice with fur sprouting. The mice should not be larger in diameter than the snake being fed. You will know you are on the right track when your snake has a slightly protruding belly after eating. You can feed your juvenile snake 2 times a week and the adult once a week or once every 10 days.

Feeding methods

Simply drop the food in the snake’s cage: it is helpful to place the food on a "plate" in the cage, as this will keep your cage clean. Just place the food and move away, leave the snake to it.

Use a pair of tongs to offer the food: In the wild snakes strike at their prey so you can simulate this by moving the tongs back and forth in front of the snake or you can "run" the food around the cage with the tongs.

Put the snake into a separate container for feeding purposes: some snake keepers do this in order to negate a 'feeding response" in the snake every time you open the cage. This is a personal choice. Of course when you open the cage there is an initial period upon opening the cage door when the snake doesn’t know whether its food time or handling time. So you have to use caution during this time. This is where a snake hook comes in handy. Once you get the hook under your pet snake and gently begin to lift it, the animal will know it’s handling time — and not feeding time.

If you ever get to see your snake eating it's a real treat, quite a thing to see.  The teeth of snakes cannot chew and break up a carcass so they swallow the prey whole. The jaws unhinge and the mouse is slowly devoured  Their strong jaw and throat muscles work the food down the esophagus and if you watch closely you'll see the shape of the mouse undulating down the body being pushed by the snakes muscles into the stomach, where digestion begins. The time it takes for a snake to digest its prey depends on the temperature of the cage. The warmer the quicker digestion.

Leave your snake alone for at least 48 hours after feeding it. Handling a snake too soon after a meal may cause regurgitation. Also ensure the snake is not shedding as they will not eat when they are shedding. Make sure the snake’s environment is set up properly (check cage temperatures, and make sure the snake has places to hide inside the cage). Snakes frequently regurgitate their meals when the cage is either too hot or too cold.

It is not necessary to supplement snake meals with vitamin powders or similar products. Snakes get all the vitamins and minerals they need from their meals, without the need to add anything.

If your snake refuses a meal, leave it alone for a week and then offer another meal.

If regurgitation is ocurring after correcting the environmental and feeding causes, check with a vet.

Water

Your milk snake will need water for drinking and soaking itself so keep clean water in the enclosure and ensure that it's at room temperature. A heavy dish several inches in diameter makes a good water source. You may find you snake soaking in the dish, particularly before a shed. Snakes often defecate in their water, in which case it should be immediately cleaned.

Humidity

Should be 40-60%. This is usually achieved by keeping the water source topped up.

To find out about snake cages and housing, heating, handling and other info read the Pet Snake Care Guide.

Need more info about the milk snake? See Milk Snake.

Other pet snakes you might be interested in: Ball Pythons, Corn Snakes, King Snakes.

Other reptile pets you might be interested in: Bearded Dragons, Pet Turtles.