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Posted by chrish on April 06, 2003 at 23:16:02:
In Reply to: Milksnake as beginner posted by shyguy4217 on April 06, 2003 at 21:23:30:
I was doing some resaerch and I came across Milksnakes. And I am new to snakes, would it be a good choice for me as a beginner?
Yes,......and no. There are a lot of kinds of milk snakes bred in the hobby. Some are great starter snakes, others are not. In general, they aren't usually the best snakes in regard to being handled. Some tolerate it begrudgingly, but always try and get away, others are psychotic feces-spraying strugglers.
I was thinking of a Pueblan Milksnake, because I like their colors and pattern, are they any easier or harder to keep?
Pueblans are easy to keep, feed and breed, but they are very high strung. They don't like to be handled, particularly when small. I don't recommend them for a beginner.
And will Milksnakes eat anything other than rodents?
You should only feed them rodents in captivity. If you have a problem feeding rodents to snakes, you should consider some other type of pet as all the easily kept species are rodent feeders (in spite of what some idiot at a pet store might tell you).
What size cage does an adult need?
Adults need a cage whose length plus width is at least equal to the length of the snake. Therefore a 30" milk snake needs cage that is approximately 20 x 10 inches.
And are they easy to breed?
Some are, but what do you think you are going to do with the babies? Baby Pueblans area dime a dozen and hard to get rid of.
If you are stuck on a milk snake, I suggest you look at a Sinaloan Milk. They are generally calmer and easier to deal with for a beginner.
If the color is what interests you, you might also consider one of the many color phases of corn snake (there are some that even look like milk snakes to some degree). They are inexpensive, easy to get, easy to keep, and a much better beginner snake.
