Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What makes a milk snake a milk snake? Is it just a name or is there a reason behind it?

Just being a triangulum or a tri-color doesn't make a snake a milk. Scarlet's are considered kings (but considered milks) or eastern's aren't tri-colored?

I deal with the public and for the first time in 21 years I was asked by a young man "what makes a milk a milk and a king a king". I don't feel my answer was adequate and as informative as I would of liked it to be.
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B

All members of the genus Lampropeltis are considered "king snakes". Milk snakes are one species of king snake, and are given the specific epitaph triangulum (thus, being Lampropeltis triangulum). There are, at current, 25 recognized subspecies of L. triangulum, with the scarlet king (L. t. elapsoides) being one of them (depending on who you ask... but that's another question altogether which I've addressed in a thread below). Common names, such as "scarlet king snake" often cause much confusion, and blur the relationships of the animals. Latin designations are preferable for this reason.

Hope this helps
-Cole

I wonder if there are any specific traits that differentiate triangulum from getula or thayeri.

reako45

Details of squamation, dentition, genetics (obvioulsy), body proportions, and a range of other characteristics distinguish them.

-Cole

Also I believe there is a difference in their teeth count? Specifically in the posterior maxilary (last upper teeth)? I am at work and can not look it for sure, but believe that to be the case.
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"The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which ones pink?"

The term for morphological characteristics of the teeth is dentition. I don't have the species-specific numbers with me at the moment, but they can be found in any number of places.

-Cole

Thank you for answering that. I figured there would be differences, but didn't know specifically which ones.

reako45

Here is the Wikipedia answer. But one thing to note is that ALL Milk Snakes are KingSnakes but a KingSnake is NOT a MilkSnake, basically Milks fall under Kings..

Hope this helps...
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Jason A.
"Long time Herper, first year Breeder `07."

Isn't there an old wives tale that "supposedly" separated milks from kings? Something like they were seen suckling on cows???
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B

Yes, the wivestale is how the "milksnake got it's common name.

No doubt started when some farmers noticed their cows weren't producing quite as much milk as expected, they ignorantly layed blame on the snakes they saw in, and around the barn searching for rodents. One thing is absolutely certain,......nobody ever "saw" a snake suckling from a cow's udders, as this is pure nonsense!

I was once told by a guy that he found a "chicken snake"(Yellow Ratsnake) in his kitchen cabinets coiled up by the cans of baby formula. He also explained to me that the snake was attracted to
"lactating women"!!!..LOL....I explained to him that snakes are NOT attracted to lactating women, OR baby formula,.....but they ARE attracted to all of the mice and rats you apparently have in your house!.........that got alot of laughs from some others that overheard this!..LOL

~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"