Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found and photographed dozens this past summer but unfortunately they are protected where I live and I am unable to keep them (not that I collect wild caught anyway)

For those that have them, what are they like in captivity?

i do keep eastern milks they are pretty cool snakes. they r sort of a pain to feed the babies but i got two of them to eat pinks and the mom and other adult milk eats fuzzies.i hatched out a clutch from the wild caught female and also when caught her she ate right away which is weird by there nature.

This female was collected at Monticello NY.

Frank

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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I have one from Otsego County, NY. It won't eat for me. I'm brumating it now and plan on releasing it next spring. I wish I could have gotten him to eat.

I always remember a book I had as a kid which stated they are "indifferent feeders." I've found this to be the case when keeping them, which I've done for several years off and on.

He's a baby my friend found in his house in Cleveland this Summer:

Third Eye

ive gotten a few of the babies i just hatched in september to eat pinkies but i had to force feed them for the paste two months to get them used to the taste of mice

female mother that gave birth i found in hempsted lake state park on long island and plan to breed her to a pueblan milk snake if possible and has anyone tried it before

i have 2 wild caught Easterns in my collection. one i caught myself in Bedford County, Virginia and the other was caught by a friend in Luray, Virginia. both are doing fairly well, although the one from Bedford County seems to be a better feeder. i had to scent with 5-lined skink to get him onto pinky mice. he's been eating unscented now for at least a couple years. as far as temperament, both are quite different. the Bedford Co. specimen is very laid back and docile and has been since capture. the other one, however is a little nervous and skittish at times, but not what i would call a mean snake. a friend of mine had one that would coil and strike and try to bite everytime you got near it. just sharing my experience. hope this info is helpful in some way for you.