Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

I used to keep snakes when I was younger (an eastern hognose, corn snake, garter snake, and a fox snake). Recently, my sugar glider of nine years died, and I was thinking of trying a snake again.

I'm very interested in, and have read up on, Black Milk Snakes and Indigo Snakes. I wanted to get some opinions and pros and cons to each species (particularly if anyone has had experience with both speicies). Easy maintenence is desired, but not necessarily a deal breaker. Mostly, I'd prefer a tame, companion animal species (at least as far as reptiles go).

Thank you.

Comparisons

Eastern Indigo Snakes:

a) Cost-Easterns COST MUCH more than black milksnakes as hatchlings and especially as s. Part of this is due to the fact that they are not reproduced in captivity on a truly consistant basis, and that the offspring are problematic feeders initially. They are also granted federal protection, which mandates that to purchase one from somebody that resids out of your state, you must purchase a permit from the Federal Government, which is reltavely cheap and easy to procure. Several states do not allow them to be sold in state. I would say that they are agressive feeders, upon mice, rats, chicks,, fish and other snakes. Often , this can be misinterpreted by the keeper as aggression, when in fact it is merely a feeding response. The times when I have been bitten, though painfull, were without exception ALL from mistakes I made in feeding them.
As presentation snakes, Easterns are wonderfull, albieght a little bit fidgety. They can and do grow to lengths of larger than 6 ft, some tapeing out at 8 and even 9 feet. They are fairly reclusive snakes, who if given a hide box, wont hesitate to use it, much to the chagrin of the keeper who wants his snakes on "display" 24/7. Easterns are VERY irridescent and also exhibit an "intelligence" that few other snakes(My opinion) other than Reticulatd Pythons and some Pituophis exhibit in captivity. You can also call it an "awareness" or recognition of their immediate surroundings and/or the person that feeds them.

Black milk snakes-
a) These are relatively common in catpivty and well represented in captive collections. There is a GREAT variation in the
darkness of color and a lack of pattern,both desirable traits in Black milks. So, if you get these, it behooves you to research it carefully and get the best stock that you can, both colorwise and for lack of a pattern. Look at the s that produced the offspring you are going to buy. Young come out looking like milksnakes(Which is what they are) and darken as they age. They stay smaller than the Eastern Indigo, and are FAIRLY calm when it comes to classroom presntations. No special permit is required to purchase them, at least from Federal point of view.
Im sorry, but black milks dont tend to show that "Awareness" that Easterns share, they tend to hide alot(Like Easterns) and are alittle bit lower on the maintenance side of things, Easterns being more messy. This is definetly a better snake to get if you are just getting into the hobby, as they are more forgiving than Easterns are to mistakes that people MAY make when they first start out. They also deal well with colder temps than Easterns do. They eat predominately mice and small rats, killing by constriction. Again, they are cheaper and exhibit SOME degree of irridesence, but then there are other snakes out there that do so also(L. nigritis for instance)

My opinion: If you are starting out for the first time with snakes, or havent bred any before, the black milk is a good way to go. Once you raise and breed them, you can go on from their and raise and try breeding Easterns. Frankly , it would be nice to have BOTh types of snakes in your collection at the same time, as when the Easterns dont produce, at least you will reproduce SOMETHING(The Black milksnakes)

Hope this helped more than it confused,

*Cheers*

Fredrick Albury

Thank you. That was very helpful and nicely broken down. Yeah, I keep hearing about the intellegence of the indigo which really interests me. But the easier maintnence and lower cost of the black milk snake pulls me the other way as well. I think I'm going to try and find somewhere that I can handle a live snake of either species to get a better idea.

I have kept snakes before but have never bred them. I don't plan on breeding my new would be snake though.

How does the nigritis compare with the black milk? The nigritis is the black king snake right?

Lampropeltis Nigritis(I think thats the latin name) Basically a Mexican black Kingsnake. The best ones are ALL BLACK, with no spotting or white on their bodies, the lousy ones(My opinion) are black with lots of yelow spotting on their underbelly and white on sides. Cheap, VERY cheap, easy to breed, but they dont get that big. but intelligence level cant be compared to an Indigo(My opinion again)

Hope I helped you, dont give up hope on an Eastern Indigo though, they ARe great snakes and with the proper coaching you can do well with one if you choose to do so. Email me if you have more questions,I wont be online for a few days.

thanks

Fred Albury

An excellent choice! They are robust and hearty. Beautiful kingsnakes, dark brown to black. Lay remarkably large eggs for their size. Vastly underpriced for the beautiful snakes they are.

Size would be the major difference. And Indies are much more beautiful. But then beauty is in th.... Milk snakes are a type of king snake, and some kings can be a little grumpy. But my indies are sweet hearts. Indies are a bit more specialized, as far as their needs. But you have some experience I guess. Get all the info. you can, read all you can read, ask lot's of questions, and then decide. What about a black rat snake? Partialy arborial, big, beautiful, and interesting. Read. Ask. Learn. Think. Decide. Good luck,
Tony.

"Milk snakes are a type of king snake, and some kings can be a little grumpy"

....this may be true, but it doesn't apply to the black milk snake. One thing that characterized the black milk is a calm demeanor as adults. Young ones are somewhat nervous like many milks (kinda jumpy), but no biting generally.

I see you have been asking advice through out the forms.

I have a few Black Milks and a few Drymarchon.

I read one of your posts were you stated you did not wish to breed but have a superior pet snake preferable black in color.
A single Black Milk snake will make a great PET. IMO. Male or female both are very docile and will usually eat f/t with out any problems. In fact you will be feeding an eating machine. Although a slow moving snake, you will be surprised at how fast this snake can move at feeding time. Use tongs and wash your hands if handling pry food prior to picking them up. Adults seem to tolerate handing very well with very little if any stress signs. They seem to enjoy exploring.

Makes a great lap snake while watching TV. I handle my BM’s as apposed to bothering my Drys. Best of both worlds, but if I didn’t have Dry’s I would settle for my BM’s.

MO. Dann…..