Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am a very happy owner of a newly acquired Black Milksnake. Is it true that Black Milksnakes like Kingsnakes, eat other snakes? He is very fidgety, I hope he will calm down the more I work with him!

Congrats! Black milk snakes are kingsnakes and will definitely eat other snakes, so it's important that they be housed individually. A snake-eating diet, however, is totally unnecessary in captivity as most can be started easily on pinky mice.
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http://www.waffahousereptiles.com

>>Congrats! Black milk snakes are kingsnakes and will definitely eat other snakes, so it's important that they be housed individually.

Really? I challenge that thought. If you have ever kept some milksnakes together in a roomy enclosure, they are anything but cannibalistic, especially when raised together or cooled over Winter together. I have done this with various milk types - Sinaloans, Nelsons, Pueblans, Mexicans .. never once have I seen even an attempt at cannibalism. As stated, all the snakes were either housed together as babies or else cooled together first.

And, the above can work with kingsnakes too. I have done the above with Cal kings, both wild-caught and captive lineages. Though with getula, I think it takes more experience from the keeper to asess the conditions.

There is a pet store that advertises here occasionally - Prehistoric pets. In their store, they have pairs of Florida kings for sale that were housed together as babies. Some of those pairs are now a few years old and big, and still together. And these are Florida kings, which will be happy to eat just about anything placed in their cage, be it snake or otherwise.

I'm not saying everyone should do this, just saying that snake behavior is not well known by us. Under one set of conditions, there may be cannibalism. Under another set, it may be virtually nonexistent.
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Mark

Mark, I have had a hatchling black milksnake kill one of it's clutchmates when house together. They were very well fed and it may have been more of a feeding accident more than a predatory instinct, but I'm just saying it can happen.
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Joe

Wow, did it eat it? You guys do make the point - it can happen.

I guess I don't know it all after all.. lol.
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Mark

No need to challenge the idea, Mark. I agree that it's unlikely. I've actually been fortunate enough not to lose any snake to cannibalism (knocks on wood). But I've seen it happen to friends with unlikely species ranging from corn snakes to pythons, so I'm not going to put it past anything lampropeltine! My advice was directed at the presumably novice OP and not meant to be a sweeping analysis of all milk snakes.
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http://www.waffahousereptiles.com

I get it. Not meant to attack you of course. Really meant to confound the novices so they know that these snakes are dynamic - they do react to certain conditions, and we can taylor those conditions to elicit behaviors (or try to.)
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Mark

This may also be results which vary from one individual to the next. Just like there are definately character differences in individual snakes. I have kept milk snakes in groups often but I don't want to chance it again with Getula.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

More like the other way around........kingsnakes by nature like most any snakes......including milksnakes!

Now in nature, some milksnakes will occasionally feed on certain snakes here and there, as well as lizards. But nowhere NEAR what a kingsnake of the getula complex would.

No need to try to feed a Black milk a snake anyway though, when they do just fine on rodents as a stable diet.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Hee Hee, Geezy Creezy I'm more psyched about new snakey- Thanks for the replies, most appreciated

on snakes in captivity. I have kept them as adults and subadults in pairs and trios and as hatchlings in a communial setting with no ill affects. Keeping animals singly reduces competition, allows for more accurate individual observation (hopefully), and prevents feeding accidents. Feed your new milk a rodent diet and it will do fine.

I am new to this species, thanks for replying. I cant wait till my Noir grows respectable like in photo- BreatheTaking!!!

Congrats on your new little fella!!! I looove these guys!!

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~Markus

The very existence of flamethrowers means that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves..."You know, I really want to set those people over there on fire...but I'm just not close enough to get the job done!