Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just wondering if Milksnakes and Kingsnakes were similar to each other in the manner that they eat other snakes. I have two Lampropeltis Getula Goini (Blotched Kingsnakes) that I have to keep separated because one will eat the other. I was just wondering if milksnakes behaved in the same manner??? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Yes. Almost all snakes have been documented to eat other snakes at one time or another. Especially snakes in the genus Lampropeltis (milks and kings). Jeff Robbe

Maybe I'm putting my foot in it... But The chain king, and calligaster groups seem to be more designed by nature to ear bigger (warm blooded) prey. The triangulum, mex group and others (to my observation and with the exception of the larger central american forms of "tri"while also warm blood feeders seem to go for smaller foods, probably due to a reduced Gapeing capacity to swallow large (wider)prey, as well as smaller size. This is more in line with snake and lizard feeders. However, any king of any kind can be justifably considered a snake eater.
Frank

I've kept sinaloans together, nelsoni, campbelli and annulata (each with its own ssp, not mixed) and never had an issue. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen, but I think it is rare. I've seen two major breeders that keep their milks in large cages together without incident. One guy had very large Hondurans for years and years in a big cage (these were big hondos BTW, like 5ft and thick.) On the other hand, any getula ssp I've had I would never trust with communal housing. The larger kings are extremely prone to eat a cagemate, with Eastern kings being the most notorious.
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Mark

>I've kept sinaloans together, nelsoni, campbelli and annulata (each with its own ssp, not mixed) and never had an issue.

I tried keeping a pair of Sinaloans together once. Sometime in the second month I found the female (the larger) with the male's head an inch down her throat. He hadn't been constricted and was none the worse when I separated them. But he'd have been lunch if I hadn't heard the paper rustling from his struggles.

Paul Hollander

I would say there is no way of knowing exactly what would happen, as individual snakes vary, but Milksnakes can and do feed on other snakes. I have kept baby Eastern Milksnakes that fed on other baby snake species in a terrarium (I found this out the hard way)but did not bother each other. I have also had adult Milk Snakes kept with Garter Snakes during a cage cleaning and they did not try to eat the other snakes, but would on occasion bite them the same as they might bite your arm when crawling on it. They were quickly separated to reduce the stress on the Garter Snake. I also acquired a juvenile Florida King and juvenile Eastern King that stayed housed together fine with no incidences, until I tried to add a California King to the cage. Both other Kings immediately tried to eat the Cal King. One can never tell so it is best to leave the snakes separate.

Personally I have kept several species of kings and milks together over the years and had no probs whatsoever. There are also folks with far more king/milk knowledge and experience than myself that have done the same as well.

In order to do so however you must not do this until they are adult and they must not only be well fed all the time but fed in seperate containers. Another thing that helps is not to put them back into their tank until the feeding response has passed. I personally leave them in the feeding sterilites for 24 hours and put them in the next day after feeding. I have heard of folks putting them in right after eating only to have one snake go after the other one. And of course it can happen anyway but the risk is minimal if they are not hungry or fed in their cage.

Phil