KINGSNAKES and MILKSNAKES
NATURAL HISTORY
Kingsnakes and milksnakes are some of the most beautiful snakes
in the world and are very popular and easily kept in captivity.
Moderately sized and usually quite docile, these snakes appeal to
the beginner as well as to the experienced herpetoculturist. The
scientific name for the genus of kingsnakes and milksnakes is
Lampropeltis. Lampro is derived from the Greek
word for "shiny" and peltis, Greek for "shields." The
name is a very accurate descriptor of these snakes with their
glossy, smooth, well-defined scales. Lampropeltis getula
(kingsnakes), L. triangulum (milksnakes) and the other
six species (comprising forty-five subspecies) can be found
throughout most of the United States, the southern parts of
Ontario and Quebec, down through Central America and parts of
South America. kings can be found in arid deserts, swamplands,
farmlands, grasslands, pine and deciduous forests, up to 8500
feet in the Rockies and to 10,000 in the Andes, and in riparian
habitats. These constrictors, in the wild they consume a variety
of prey, including other snakes, amphibians, lizards, rodents,
birds, even rattlesnakes.
One of the most interesting thing about some of the kings and
milks, and something which unfortunately works only too well, is
their mimicry of the venomous coral snakes. As most people
cannot tell the difference and many believe that all snakes are
uniformly dangerous, wild kings and milks are often met with the
business end of a shovel rather than the respect they deserve for
their efforts in keeping the rodent populations in check. To set
the record straight, Lampropeltis and coral snakes can easily be
told apart by the order of the color of their bands. Both snakes
have yellow, red and black bands. Kings and milks have black
bands touching the red bands; in corals, the yellow touches the
red bands. A simple rhyme makes it easy to remember the order:
Red on yellow, kill a fellow. An alternative rhyme, yellow on
red, you're dead" is a bit of an overstatement, as the vast
majority of people who do get bitten by a coral snake just become
very ill, recovering with no residual effects.
As Lampropeltis are easily bred in captivity, there is never a
reason to purchase a wild one. In California and now, in
Arizona, there are stringent laws concerning the wild collection
and the sale of captive bred kingsnakes about which many pet
stores are unfamiliar. Captive breeding has produced numerous
color and pattern morphs, ranging from different types of albinos
to striped and mottled markings. Some of the most striking,
however, are the most natural - vivid bands of colors, or the
simple black and brilliant yellows of the Florida and Sonoran
kings.
Kings are oviparous, laying fifteen or so eggs. Hatchlings
emerge from the eggs anywhere from six to ten weeks after being
laid, and range in size from eight to thirteen inches long.
Adults range in size from three feet up to seven feet, depending
upon the species. With proper care, kings will live 20 or more
years.
Selecting Your Kingsnake or Milksnake
What subspecies you select is a personal decision, but the
criteria by which you evaluate the potential purchase remains the
same. The snake should have a firm rounded body. Check the
sides for any caving, sign of possible broken ribs (which happens
primarily to wild-caught snakes). The eyes should be clear with
no sign of secretions, cloudiness (other than routine opaquing
before shedding) nor any signs of mites; mites may also be
detected by their feces, a grayish-white "dust" speckling the
snake's body. There should be no gaping--open mouth breathing or
catching of breath--which is indicative of a respiratory or
parasitical infection. The skin should be shiny with no sign of
sores, scabs or discolored patches. The ventral surface (the
belly side) should look as good as the top surface. The vent
(cloaca) should be clean, free or any feces or urates. There
should be no swelling either above the vent or towards the tail.
The inside of the mouth should be uniformly pink. Any red spots
may be a sign of beginning mouthrot; any yellow, cheesy substance
is a sign of advanced mouthrot. There should be no excess
mucous, and the tongue sheath should be clean and whole.
Unless a snake has been handled a lot by a number of different
people, it will not be particularly tame when you first pick it
up or when it is first handed to you. The snake should move
purposefully and persistently; let it move from hand to hand. A
wild or highly stressed snake is going to wave the upper half of
its body in the air trying to escape as soon as it is free of
your hands. When the snake is comfortable with you, it will
spend some time wrapped around your hand or arm, actively
interested in its surroundings as evidenced by tongue flicking
and alert to movement. When you first hold the snake, feel along
its entire length to see if you can feel any bumps, lumps or
unusually hard or soft areas. When you put the snake down, check
your hands to see if there are any mites. Look at the snake move
to see that it is moving smoothly, with no abrupt hitches in gait
or tremors.
Housing your snake
Kings and milks are escape artists. If there is any small (very
small) gap or hole, or any "give" to the fitting of the top
attached to their tank or between the doors and casement, your
snake will escape. Kings, more than any other snake, is known
for its tenacity it testing it's environment, looking for a way
out. Once out, they are very difficult to find. For this
reason, the selection and purchase of a commercial enclosure (or
design of a custom enclosure) is just as important as your
personal selection of a snake. A tight enclosure is more
expensive, whether you buy one or make it yourself, but this is
an expense that you cannot skimp on. What is the point of saving
some money on an inferior enclosure if, in the end, you lose your
snake? Doing it right the first time will save you from some
grief down the line.
Enclosure
The enclosure you select must have a tightly fitting, locking,
top. Available commercially are a variety of glass enclosures
with tops consisting of screen mesh and a hinged glass door which
locks into place with a small swing latch. Available now are
also locking screen tops which can be put on previously purchased
tanks. With either of these enclosures, check the give of the
tops before you place your snake inside and walk away. Snakes
are, for the lack of a better word, squishy, and can squeeze
themselves through impossibly tight spaces. Any gaps due to
"give" in the doors or tops can be reduced significantly by
fitting aquarium airline tubing all around the opening.
Hatchlings may be housed in a ten gallon enclosures. Medium
sized adults may be housed in twenty gallon enclosures. The
longer and larger snakes should be housed in a 60 gallon
enclosure. Try to get high-sided enclosures so that you may put
in some vertical climbing and above-the-floor basking areas.
Milk and king snakes, like all the other snakes in the family
Colubridae (typically, non-venomous snakes considered to be more
highly evolved than the boas and pythons), have only one
functioning lung. Due to the lack of space inside the confines
of their rib cage, all organs are elongated and so there is now
room for only one working lung. Their left lung is still there,
withered to a vestigial stub. Because of this somewhat reduced
lung capacity, and the fact that when such snakes cannot stretch
fully out on a regular basis, they are prone to respiratory
infections. For this reason, it is important to give the snake
as much stretching room as possible.
Heat
The Lampropeltis that live in climates that experience extremes
in heat and cold alter their daily habits to accommodate such
extremes. Hibernating through the cold winters, northern and
mountain snakes spend the season dormant. Desert species will
hide in cool crevices during the hottest part of the day, coming
becoming crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk). In captivity,
the extremes do not need to be provided unless you are trying to
breed your snakes. In general, provide a temperature gradient
ranging from 76-86 F, with nighttime drops into the low 70's. If
you are providing an enclosure with high enough sides to
establish basking and hiding areas at different levels within the
enclosure, you will need to make sure that gradient is both
horizontal as well as vertical. Do not try to guess the
temperature. You must use thermometers. Ideally, one should be
placed in the cool end, the warm end, and at any other area where
the snake spends much of its time. The hottest areas should not
exceed the maximum stated range by more than a couple of degrees,
especially for snakes from temperate areas.
Heating pads (either people heating pads or ones developed for
reptiles) can be placed under half the tank, or inside the tank,
under half the substrate. Under no circumstances is a hot rock
to be used as is. If you want to use one, it must be connected
to a thermostat so that you can control the temperature; these
"rocks" heat up to 105 F on the surface, too hot for the majority
of reptiles, and capable of causing severe burns. Incandescent
and other heat lights are impractical for two reasons: they must
be turned off a night, thus allowing to great a drop in
temperature, and they bother the snakes, especially the nocturnal
ones. Radiant heat from below can be supplemented with a
non-light emitting heat source such as the new ceramic heating
elements. If the ambient room air temperature is always warm (in
the low to mid part of the gradient required), then you may be
able to make do with only one heat source.
Humidity and Water
Provide a bowl of water for your snake. This is generally all
the humidity they will need. They will often soak in the water,
especially prior to a shed. As they often defecate in the water,
you much check it daily, cleaning and disinfecting it before
placing it back in the tank. One of the problems experienced
years ago by herpetoculturists and hobbyists keeping Lampropeltis
is that the substrate was kept too damp, causing bacterial,
fungal and respiratory infections. Make sure that the substrate
remains dry at all times.
Furnishings
Kings and milks are rather secretive snakes, preferring to curl
up in a rocky crevice or under a log. Shelters of some sort
should be provided in both the cool and in the warm ends of the
enclosure. They can range from commercially available "rocky"
caves, half-circles of tree bark, and upside-down flower pots.
Less aesthetically pleasing is the "green" approach--recycle
facial tissue and other suitably sized boxes into caves. They are
easily disposed of and replaced when they get soiled.
Enclosures may range from the strictly utilitarian (substrate,
caves, water bowl) to being a vivarium, outfitted with substrate
similar to that found in the snake's native habitat, rocks,
branches, backdrops, etc. It is easier to start of utilitarian,
and then design and plan the interior design once you see your
snake in place and it has acclimated to captivity.
Substrate
Until you are certain that your new acquisition has no worms,
protozoan infections or mites, start it off on paper towels or
butcher paper. Easily changed when soiled, these materials will
also enable you to monitor the condition of the feces and to
detect the presence of mites.
Once you are sure your snake is parasite-free and healthy, you
can continue using these papers, or use one of the following
substrates: untinted aspen shavings (cedar and redwood are toxic,
and there is some feeling that their relative, the pine, may be
toxic as well); Astroturf or outdoor carpeting; number three
aquarium gravel (not silica sand), washed and dried before use;
mixture of sterile potting soil and sand. This latter substrate
is what caused early king-keepers such problems--the surface of
this type of substrate was too often damp. When using this soil
mix, the top several inches should be very dry. Desert vivaria
can be outfitted with a fine grade aquarium silica sand.
The real key to substrates is how difficult they are to clean and
change, and how likely you are to do what is necessary as often
as it is necessary. The more difficult or complicated you make
the inside of the enclosure to clean, the less likely a busy
person is going to do it. Find that delicate balance between
providing as much interest and variety for your snake and what
you can reasonably expect to be able to do on an at least weekly
basis.
FEEDING
Captive born hatchlings are started off on pink mice, and so
feeding them is rarely a problem. Wild caught snakes, on the
other hand, may have been feeding primarily on lizards or frogs,
making it quite a bit more difficult and time consuming to get
them switched over to mice. If you are having problems switching
a snake, read David Perlowin's book on kingsnakes.
Hatchlings can be started on one-two day old pinkie mice. If
frozen mice are used, make sure to defrost thoroughly (leave on
counter, under a light, or soaking in warm water). Feed one to
two mice every two to seven days, depending upon growth rate
desired. Generally speaking, a snake will grow faster being fed
several small prey a couple of times a week rather than one big
prey once a week. The smaller prey are more digestible than the
larger prey, so the snake is getting more nutrition from them.
Subadults can be offered bigger mice one or more times a week. A
good rule of thumb is to feed prey that is as big girth-wise as
is the widest part of the snake's body. You will find that they
are hungrier in the spring and summer, winding down during the
fall; many stop feeding altogether during the winter months even
though the may still be somewhat active.
Adult size is generally reached within three years at which time
the amount and rate of feeding can be reduced. Feed adult mice
or just weaned pink rats. At this point, judgment must come into
play. You want your snake to be well rounded, with no visible
line of backbone or ribs. The amount of food it takes to
maintain that weight and appearance varies between species.
Start with once a week; if the snake looks too lean, increase to
one mouse twice a week. Another rule of thumb: snakes over four
feet long need at least two adult mice each week.
Veterinary Care
This is an essential, and often overlooked, part of bringing a
new animal into your home, and when an animal gets sick and
changes to its environment fails to achieve a cure. When your
snake first defecates, collect the feces in a clean plastic bag,
seal it, label it with the date, your name and phone number and
the snake's name, and take it and your snake to a vet who is
experienced with reptiles and have the sample tested for worms.
Handling Your Snake
After giving your snake a couple of days to settle in, begin
picking it up and handling it gently. It may move from you and
it may anoint you with a smelly musky substance from it's vent.
Be gentle but persistent. Daily contact will begin to establish
a level of trust and confidence between you and your snake. When
it is comfortable with you, you can begin taking it around the
house. Don't get over-confident! Given a chance and close
proximity to seat cushions, your snake will make a run (well, a
slither) for it, easing down between the cushions and from there,
to points possibly unknown. Always be gentle, and try to avoid
sudden movements. If the snake wraps around your arm or neck,
you can unwind it by gently grasping it by the tail and
unwrapping it from around you. If you start at the head, you will
find that your snake is stronger than you are, or at least, more
tenacious.
Necessities
Some things you should have on hand for general maintenance and
first aid include: Nolvasan (Chlorhexidine diacetate) for
cleaning enclosures and disinfecting food and water bowls, litter
boxes, tubs and sinks etc. Betadine (povodine/iodine) for
cleansing scratches and wounds. Set aside a food storage bowl,
feeding and water bowls, soaking bowl or tub, even sponges, to be
used only for your snake.
Places to Go, Things to See and Learn:
Join your local herpetological society where you can meet other
reptile owners, learn more about your boa and find an experienced
reptile veterinarian in your area. Click here for information on
the North Bay Herp Society or email MelissK@aol.com for information
on herp societies and vets in your area. Check your local pet
stores and library for these and other python and reptile care
books:
The General Care and Maintenance of Common Kingsnakes,
by David Perlowin. 1992. Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside CA.
Kingsnakes and Milksnakes, Ronald G. Markel. 1990. TFH
Publications, Inc.
Snakes of the World, by Scott Weidensaul. 1991.
Chartwell Books, Seacacus,
NJ.
Living Snakes of the World, John M. Mehrtens. 1987.
Sterling Publishing Co., New York.
Copyr. 1994 Melissa Kaplan
MelissK@aol.com
Melissa
Kaplan's WWW Page