Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi... I've owned several different kinds of snakes in my day but I'm unfamiliar with a baby Mexican Milksnake I have my eye on. Can you please tell me about them? How they handle, how well they feed, how they compare to, say, a desert kingsnake? I read that they are smaller (which is fine with me) but I can't always get a straight answer on the other things. I'd like to get info before I dive in. Thanks.

They are often very squiggly as babies. As adults, Mexican milks calm down more than most milksnakes IMO. Plus, they seem even more tolerant of imperfect captive conditions than some other milksnakes, which is saying alot since milks are pretty darn easy keepers.

Adult size is pretty small, definitely less mass than a desert kingsnake. Mine were under 3ft for sure, and they were old. Smaller food. Smaller poops. Smaller cages. Easy.

They like to hide alot. But what do you expect from a milksnake.
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Mark

Thanks Mark.... how are they on eating? Picky or what? I've heard that they musk and bite a lot. Is this true?

You are looking at buying the coolest milk of them all. I have 2 annulatas and they are easier than corn snakes. In my opinion the spotted line mexican milks are the prettiest of all milks and are so very easy to care for. I purchased mine from Ryan Hoyer in Utah. He sells only awesome snakes (I just bought 2 more unique pyros) and it would be worth it to check with him to see if he has any spotted annulatas available. Here is his site that has his contact info: http://ophidiarium.com/
snake adventures

I really like the anulattas for being easy to care for, great feeders and very beautiful, all in a smallish package. I have never had one bite or musk me, w.c. or c.b. I have several, lol!

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Todd Hughes

I guess you got the answers from the others on feeding. Just to reinforce what they said, Mexican milks are great feeders. No problems there.
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Mark

Mexican milks are probably one of the best milks to start with. They are very calm, typically great eaters and are gorgeous. They do stay on the small side as well as others have mentioned.

Most all baby milks are jumpy but in my experience, like most milks, after they reach a year old, they start to calm down. They may musk as babies but they will calm down a lot and make great snakes to work with.

Good luck!

Dave

DNS Reptiles

Dave that is a stunning animal!
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Todd Hughes

WOW.... thanks yall for all the info.... it sounds like a super snake to own. I noticed that some seem to have white stripes and some yellow. Is this because they get yellow with age? Would they be able to handle a dry desert area?

Miss Hisssss,
First, I think you mean bands, not stripes. They don't turn yellow with age, so pick the color that you like and don't expect it to morph into another color. My female is pumpkin orange with yellow bands (some of the bands don't go all the way down and are called spots). My male is stop sign red with white bands. I have pictures of mine on my blog somewhere: www.snakeadventures.blogspot.com These are just normal variations of annulatas.
Good luck,
Robby
ps. I live in a desert area (Utah) and mine do just fine.
snake adventures

>>Dave that is a stunning animal!
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>>Todd Hughes

Dave that is an awesome Mexican Milk for sure...Thanks for sharing that pic....

Todd....
This one that Dave has looks almost identical to a DOR I found Northwest of Orange Grove on 624 back about 6 years ago....I called it a Tangerine Anulata....I have an old pic...need to find it....

Regards,
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John Lassiter

"Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part....."

yep, I have been watching that site for eons it seems ever since we found a fresh hatched male crawling across the road there. They are solid animals from around there.
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Todd Hughes

.

your welcome, can I have it?? LOL!

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Todd Hughes

Gosh... did I say stripes? It must've been late. LOL. I think I like the white bands more than the yellow. Yall sure have some nice looking snakes. Perhaps I'll have one of my own someday. Thanks for sharing your pictures and knowledge.

They look so much alike.... so what are the differences between a mexican milk and a Sinaloan? Size? Temperament? Easy of feeding and handling? I thought I read that the Mexican milk is smaller but don't know about the rest.

L. t. annulata and sinaloae differ in size, band width, geographic origin, etc.

-Cole