Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I wanted to know what the largest species of Milk Snake is? I was thinking about getting a milk snake in the next few weeks and wanted to know which one gets the largest. Thanks in advance!

L.t. Micropholis (Ecuadorian)
L.t. gaigea (Black)
L.t. andesiana (Andean)
L.t. hondurensis (Honduran)

All of these can get 6'

Good luck

Thanks a lot. I was looking for something that will get in the 5-7 foot range but wasn't interested in any boids. I already have a 50/50 cali king snake and a yellow rat snake who escaped.I know he's gone as my house is huge. I have not given up hope yet though! If I don't find him in about 3 weeks I plan to purchase another snake and was looking at milk's. The Apricot Pueblan Milk Snakes have been my favorite so far,atleast from the photos I have looked at.

Sorry..I meant to ask in my last reply if 90 dollars is about right for a normal tangerine honduran? There is a pet store around here that breed their own reptiles(kings and milks).They have juvi tangerine honduran's for 90 dollars. I bought a 50/50 cali king from him for 70 a few weeks ago and the snake is a great eatter and getting rather large quickly.

I bought my tangerine dream honduran at a reptile expo for $85. He was 2 months old. He eats well although I wish he didn't hide 24/7.

Dont forget Stuart's Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum stuarti).

Hmmm... according to the info I've seen, stuarti are only a medium sized milk... basically a smaller version of the black milk that lives at the lower altitudes of Costa Rica and never turns black. Apparently they are nearly indistinguishable as hatchlings. There are a few other rare Central American milks... abnorma and polyzona, that can get above 5', and there have even been some monster Eastern milks that approach that size.
Lampropeltis

I work at a museum in NC and the two stuarti that we have are both ~6'. The stuarti I kept at home never got that big but I only kept them for approximately four years (both of the snakes at work are at least 10). I have kept andesiana and gaigeae for quite some time and many of the adults are not as big as the Stuarts at the museum (with the exception of a very large male Andean Milk I own). They are a wonderful, and highly under appreciated, species of milk to work with. The babies are large and take food right out of the egg.

That's interesting, I had no idea that stuarti got that big... I wonder if they intergrade with gaigeae at middle altitudes... someday when I'm rich and famous I'll have to take a herping trip to Costa Rica and find out!

Nate,
I agree with Phil two years ago I bought a collection from a guy in NC named Dennis Mountain. The collection included Hondurans, Mexicans, Blacks, Guatemalans, Atlantic Central Americans, Andeans, and Stuarts. The Stuart's were both over 6 ft and could have easily eaten the Adult Guatemalans and Atlantic Central Americans, that were just around 4ft. In fact Phil has some of my Guatemalans, Atlantics, and Conant's and he needs to put some pictures of them up here.

Take Care
Sean

I'd love to see some pictures of those obscure Central American species... photos, please!

I will try to get them up in the next two weeks (still learning the ropes on my new camera).