Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,
I've been keeping kings and milks for a while and tomorrow will be adding a Black Milksnake to my collection. From what I've read it seems as though basic care for the variety should be the same as it would for any other milk EXCEPT that temps should be lower. I've read in some places that temps should be about 80 at the hot end of the enclosure and in other places that the high temperature should never exceed 70 because high temps result in obesity, frequent shedding, and reduced fertility. The sources claiming 70 degrees seemed to be more informed but I just want to ask you all what you think. These sites also stated that black milks should feel slightly cool to the touch and that if they feel ambient or warm that temps are too high. My assumption at this point is that sites claiming that 80 degrees is ideal are probably generalizing for all milksnake varieties.

My tentative plan is to put it in a 20-long tank with a heat pad at one end and a dimmer keeping the hot spot at about 75 degrees. During the summer the room the enclosure will be in will probably not fall below 68 degrees at any time but during the winter I plan to supplement the heat pad with a ceramic heat emitter to keep the temps at an appropriate level.

I have been unable to find out if the breed prefers dry or moist conditions. Given their native habitat I believe they perform best in high humidity but do not know this for fact. Please let me know if you can clear up the temperature confusion and also feel free to pass on any other knowledge/wisdom you have in keeping this breed.
Thanks!
Kiley

Kiley,
You pretty much have all the info you need to keep him/her happy.
I really don't like ceramic heaters of any kind for snakes.They are just like lightbulbs and the problem is the pretty much will heat the whole tank unless its really long and they can get away from it.
Why don't you hibernate it in the winter or just keep it up in your living room or something all winter?

They do like moist hides and it helps them shed but I keep mine pretty much dry and just spray the inside of the cage when its about to shed.

L8r Shannon

Hey Kiley,

I have been successful keeping black milks at room temp (72-78 degrees) with a 16oz water bowl with no additional heat source or source for humidity. I wouldn't suggest a heat pad as they get stressed very easily if its too hot. If in the winter room temp drops into the 60s, you may just want to take away any light source and stop feeding for a few months instead of trying to keep them warm enough for proper digestion.

Good luck.

Dave

DNS Reptiles - Updated

Thanks for the advise both of you. The undertank heater can be put to better use for one of my other snakes. I do not think it will drop below about 68 degrees inside during the winter so I do not foresee needing to overwinter it or anything. I have been monitoring in-tank temperatures for a couple nights now and it seems to go from 76 in the day to about 70 at night which I believe is acceptable. We'll see what happens if the we get a huge heat wave. The worst case scenario I think is that I might need to move it down stairs if it gets too hot in my room.