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Hi, Wanted to know at what temps they should be kept at? How big do they get as adults? Are they easy to start right out of the egg? As i am planning on getting a pair this spring from eric richter as i have been friends for over 20 years. Are they as easy to breed as other pits.? Also at what age or size do they start breeding? Any information will be very helpful, Also how fast is there growth rate? Thanks

Boy, seems like Eric Richter would probably know about as much as anyone. John Michels of Black Pearl (web.mac.com/michelsj/iWeb/Site/Lineaticollis.html) would be another. I got one femaile from him this year for my first one. Eats really well but so far very jumpy and nippy. The do get huge (like at 6--7 plus).

He does but tring to get as much information as possible, he did tell me a lot as all the pits that i have came from him ( eric richter) but i am trying to gather as much info. as i can eric has been very helpful in answering my questions but want to know more as not very many people i think are working with the lineaticollis?

Google is your friend

They typically feed quite well out of the eggs. I have not found them to be difficult to keep at all. Keep them in the mid to upper 70's with a thermal grade hot end of 80+degree heat strip. They get huge, 7-9ft long. Breed them as would any Pituophis, (i.e. when they are 3-5 years old and seem mature). Don't do a hard brumation as they would not encounter this in the wild. Mine "winter" with warmish days and col nights and bimonthly feedings! As noted they can be a bit nippy but I find that they are fear biters so if you are calm and pay attention when handling there is little cause for issues......

They seem to breed in early spring and have huge clutches of 25-35 good sized eggs.

Go one line and find some known localities for these guys then chart the daily high and low temperature regimes for that region. try to think about what the animal would experience in a the wild and then attempt to get as close as your own budget and conditions will allow!

You will like this group!

Good luck!

how you brumate yours. I have been cooling mine down like any other N. American colubrid, a hard brumation as you say, and they have done fine so far. I did this with Honduran Milks too back when I used to breed them. Even though they would not experience these temps in the wild they semed to tolerate them fine. I looked at the temps of the areas where lineaticollis comes from and figured they could take the temps of my main snake room in winter, I never really thought of cooling them any other way until you mentioned how you do yours. Honduran Milks are much much more tropical than lineaticollis and I remember one cold spell we had here in NC that sent my snake room temps down in the 40s but they survived with no problems. I wonder what other lineaticollis breeders are doing brumation wise.

Scott John Reptiles

Honduran Milks are much much more tropical .........

I have not been to Honduras. But I have been to Costa Rica. I visited the mountains where the milksnakes are said to occur. I promise you, they experience just as much cold as we do here in Los Angeles area. The caveat is they do indeed have the opportunity to warm up most afternoons.

My mistake was going to the "tropics" bringing only swim trunks and t-shirts. Those mountains get COLD!

I will defer to Ginter about the origins of lineaticolis, BUT I thought Mexico City was/is the place to hunt them. If this is true, that city's average elevation is 2240 meters above sea level (about 7349 feet). I bet long pants and jacket required, at night, much of the year.
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