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Re: Opinions wanted...best milk snake for beginner


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Posted by markg on November 14, 2002 at 12:09:37:

In Reply to: Opinions wanted...best milk snake for beginner posted by Amanda E on November 14, 2002 at 11:13:45:

Any of the milksnakes from Mexico and Central America are good because they feed on mice readily. The US milks (red milks, coastal plains milks, etc) often have to be started on small skinks and are not as robust. Milksnakes as a whole are considered to be nervous in comparison to say cornsnakes. However, adults are always better than babies in that regard, and certain ssp are calmer than others.

Black milks get large.. like 5-6ft and thick for a milksnake. They along with Andean milks prefer slightly cooler ambient temps. They are happy if kept at 75-78 deg and can eat and digest at much cooler temps. These snakes have a reputation of being calm.. more like cornsnakes in attitude.

Sinaloans, Nelsons, Mexican, Pueblans and Hondurans can all be kept like corns. Mexican milks are the smallest but are really easy to keep and IMO win the award for the calmest of this group as adults. Pueblans are just a little bigger than Mexicans and breed like rabbits, but stay more flightly as adults. Nelsons and Sinaloans can get 4ft and are pretty calm as adults. Hondurans probably have the largest following because of the colors but not for their personalities - they are flightly though many calm down after 5 years.

I have to say.. all are great snakes, and some like Hondurans and Nelsons have the readily available color morphs, but an adult black milk is a sight to see and a pleasure to hold.


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