Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pair of jungle carpet pythons and a pair of Kenyan sand boas so I have some experience with snakes. I'm interested in black milksnakes as my first colubrid. I've searched the archives of this forum but I still have a few questions:

1. Can a pair be housed together? I spoke with a breeder this weekend and he described how he keeps his adults together in a large cage and feeds them separately outside the cage. Is he extremely lucky that they haven't eaten each other or is it okay to keep black milks together? What do most of you multiple black milk owners do?

2. Are black milks very irridescent? The adults I saw this weekend were about to shed so I couldn't really tell.

3. Would a single adult or pair do well in a 4'x2' cage?

4. Are black milksnake active snakes that prowl their cages or are they snakes that just stay hidden most of the time?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Hi Ken,

1. I personally never house ANY Milks together. I know some breeders who get away with it but I think they usually do so temporarily and because of lack of space. I have seen way too many pictures from owners who didn't pull it off and now have one massively stuffed snake left.

2. Not "Rainbow Boa" irridescent, but definitely shiny. Lets say a "semi gloss".

3. A single Adult would do well in that size, maybe a bit roomy, but certainly adequate.

4. Good question. I think mine probably stay hidden about 3/4 of the time. I must admit that I don't see them roam all that much. The snake is so personable, however, anytime I would like to observe them I just pull them out and let them roam on me.

I hope this has been helpful. Allow me to congratulate you on an excellent choice. They are some of my favorite Colubrids.

Jerm

1. Can a pair be housed together?
I wouldn't advise keeping young snakes together. You might be able to keep adults together, but you should be careful when feeding as they have a very strong feeding response and there could be accidents.

2. Are black milks very irridescent? The adults I saw this weekend were about to shed so I couldn't really tell.
They are fairly iridescent. My adults have a gold gloss to them.

3. Would a single adult or pair do well in a 4'x2' cage?
A pair of adults would probably be too large for this size cage. A large adult would be OK, but a pair would be too crowded, IMHO.

4. Are black milksnake active snakes that prowl their cages or are they snakes that just stay hidden most of the time?
Mine are fairly reclusive. They only come out when they are hungry. Otherwise they are buried in their aspen shavings or in their hideboxes.
-----
Chris Harrison

...he was beginning to realize he was the creature of a god that appreciated the discomfort of his worshippers - W. Somerset Maugham