Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Wow!
So today at work (I'm a science teacher at a boarding school in massachusetts), one of my students brings me over to his dorm to show me a snake.
Turns out its a milk snake...something I've never seen before in my life in this state despite my fascination with snakes.

Now according to the massachusetts snake page...
http://www.umass.edu/umext/nrec/snake_pit/pages/milk.html
...its L. triangulum. However the picture looks a bit different. The color between the blotches are darker.
Also every picture I've looked at on the web seems completely different.

So, anyone have any idea what sub-species are found in Massachusetts?

I also decided to capture it, if only for a short while (our students are a bit troubled and some wouldn't hestitate to kill it outright). Not sure if I should keep it or not.
Any thoughts?

It's Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum, the Eastern milk snake. I have kind of mixed feelings on keeping it. I have a yearling I kept. Adults are a little difficult to get started many times, but the young sometimes are too. They're also difficult to brumate, imo. I recommend starting with a young one, if possible. Also, you should check for parasites.

Yeah, I have mixed feelings too about keeping it.
On one hand, I feel wild snakes do best in the wild. On the other hand I'm afraid of its welfare with disturbed kids nearby.

Just out of curiosity, how old could it be? I'd say its about 3/4 of an inch at its thickest and probably about 2.5 feet long.
Its head is about 1 inch long.

It's hard to say. Probably an adult. If a male, it could be any age over three yrs. If it's a female, it might be a little younger, but probably at least three. I think they get quite a bit larger, four ft. easy, in MA, as opposed to n. MI where I live.

If it seems healthy and is eating for you, then you could give it a try. It may stop feeding and want to go into brumation somewhere in Sept/Oct though and you'd have to have conditions pretty cool. I sometimes have kept one a week or two then released it where I found it.

Good luck...TC.

As much as I'd like to keep it, it would be wrong for me to do so.
So I'll keep it a couple of days and then release it.

Kind of a nice lesson for my students.

Speaking of the students, normally a snake is released in the same spot it was found. I'm still afraid one of the kids will hurt it. Should I just trust in the snakes abilities or would it be ok to be released somewhere else?

I'm in Massachusetts and find many milk snakes every season. They vary quite a bit in color and pattern from individual to individual.
If you are concerned about it being harmed by the students, just move it to a nearby rock wall, wood pile etc. Milksnakes are fairly secretive, most people never see them even though they're common. This is the time of year they may briefly expose themselves in a search for a mate or nesting site. In a couple of more weeks, the average causual observer will never see one.
If you want to keep it, be aware of the difficulties as mentioned above. They are not ideal captives for the inexperienced.

Yeah, I'm gonna let it go. As it happens I found a stone wall deeper into the woods, but still pretty close to where I found it.

Where are you in Massachusetts?
I'm in central mass.