Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I wanted to ask this question in this forum so I would get a more rounded response but can a milksnake be made as tame as a kingsnake? I love the way they look and already have a Splendida King. I have read a lot about how shy they are and they defecate a lot when handled.

I have nearly a hundred snakes, roughly 50% kings and 50% milks and there really isn't much of a difference between the two, I dont ever expect a snake under 2 feet long to not be jumpy, therefore those are usually only handled to transfer cage to cage for cleanings. 2 feet and larger they begin to tame down. Though there are always exceptions to the rules and I have never seen an adult pueblan milk snake that wasn't jumpy. All of my breeder cal kings and mexican milks are pretty friendly and I haven't been tagged by a snake over 2 feet in years.
-----
www.kingpinreptiles.com

get a sinaloan milksnake. they are pretty calm compared to the other common hondurans and pueblin milks.

hondurans are about the worst when it comes to nervousness.Har to take pics of babies and they are pretty intense as adults as well.

But even with camer kingsnakes like the florida kings their charateristics also effect behavior. Depending on teh area they came from they are not all teh same when it comes to behavior. Some are very shy (example:Mosaics) and stay buried under the shavings. Some are very calm and some are nervous. Some have a very high feeding response. Some are timid and finicky when it comes to feeding. So the individual lines do effect character.
-----

I was just thinking about this. I've had Honduran, Pueblan, Sinaloan, eastern, central plains, and red milk snakes... and scarlet kings. The only ones that were consistently of pleasant disposition were the Sinaloans. The others were very flighty, and would musk/crap half the time they were handled. It didn't take much to provoke them to bite, either.

Most CB kings I've had have been rather pleasant and calm. A few of the WC kings never tamed down...
-----
www.brooksi.com

I have five different ssp's of milks from Central America... 11 snakes total. Of that number only two musked me during the first couple of weeks after having acquired them... one of those two also bit me a couple of times, the other one of those two bit me once but I'm fairly certain it was because I didn't adequately wash my hands after just having fed some other snakes.

If it doesn't matter which milk snake you get I'd take Bluerosy's advice and get a Sinaloan... some good looking examples can be had at very good prices. An easy snake to keep and all but guaranteed to be calm from day one... same thing for gaigeae if you don't mind your milk turning completely black as it ages.

Gerry

>>I have five different ssp's of milks from Central America... 11 snakes total. Of that number only two musked me during the first couple of weeks after having acquired them... one of those two also bit me a couple of times, the other one of those two bit me once but I'm fairly certain it was because I didn't adequately wash my hands after just having fed some other snakes.
>>
>>If it doesn't matter which milk snake you get I'd take Bluerosy's advice and get a Sinaloan... some good looking examples can be had at very good prices. An easy snake to keep and all but guaranteed to be calm from day one... same thing for gaigeae if you don't mind your milk turning completely black as it ages.
>>
>>Gerry

Annulata are one of the calmest triangulum....
-----
John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

Can't speak for the ssp's I don't have... but it's good to know in case... you know... down the road... can I have everything?

Gerry

I have about 60 milks and 10 kings. Most all of my milks are North American milks. As a general rule the captive bred milks are very manageable and do not musk or bite when held as adults. Some are flighy as babies but calm down. The WC milks I have don't bite or musk either but some are jumpy constantly slithering in your hands. Some WC are as calm as captive bred.

Of the kings I have most of the captive bred animals are laid back. But I do have adult captive bred easterns and speckled kings that musk every time I pick them up.

The sinaloans I work with are calm from the day they hatch. Same with the grey bands and Mexican milks I have.

So in my experience its difficult to say a king or a milk is more calm. It depends on a lot of factors including the sub species for milks and whether they are WC or captive bred. Some individual snakes just don't calm down even though their subspecies is generally though to be laid back like the eastern king example I mentioned.

I agree with others. You have a better chance at a calm milk if you get a Sinaloan, Mexican, black or Nelson's milk from a reputable breeder. These are often even calm as hatchlings.

Dave
DNS Reptiles

Thanks to everyone's replies and especially to Dave for your post it was very helpful. I am going to purchase a snake at the Reptile Super Show when comes to Pomona in January. I can't wait. Considering I only have one Kingsnake and I love them so much I might just end up with another. Or maybe another King and a Milk.