Milk Snake

Breeding:
In our range, mates in spring; deposits clutch of 2-17 elliptical eggs often in rotting logs, June to July; hatch August to September. Incubation period 6-9 weeks. Young 5 ½ -11” long.

Habitat:
Diverse situations: semiarid to damp coastal bottomland to Rocky Mountains and tropical hardwood forests; pine forests, open deciduous woodland. Meadows, rocky hillsides, prairies, high plains, sand duns, farmland, and suburban areas; sea level to ca. 8,000’.

Range:
Se. Maine, se. Quebec, se. and sc Ontario, s. Wisconsin, and c. and se Minnesota south through most of Mountains; México south to Colombia and Venezuela.

Subspecies:
Eastern, 26-52”, Y-or V-shaped patch on nape of neck; s. Maine south to n. New Jersey and in Appalachian Mountains through North Carolina, Tennessee to n. Georgia and Alabama and westward to w. Kentucky, sw. Indian, north half of Illinois, ne. Iowa, and sc. Minnesota.
Louisiana, 16-31” snout mottled black and with, black border of broad red bands extends onto belly scales; Louisiana west of Mississippi River and e. Texas north into extreme se. Oklahoma and sw. Arkansas.
Mexican, 25-39”; snout black; edges of broad red blotches extend to belly scales, belly black; s. Texas into México.
New México, 14-24 ¾ “; snout mottled black and with; black and light bands expanded
on center line of back and rear belly, red extends to edge of belly scales; n.
and e. New México and adjacent w. Texas; scattered populations in sc. New México to
Big Bend area, Texas.
Scarlet Kingsnake, 14-27”, snout red, banked usually continue across belly; North
Carolina south through Florida Keys, west to the Appalachians and the Mississippi River in s. Mississippi and adjacent Louisiana, north though ne. Mississippi, c. Tennessee, and sc. And e. Kentucky.
Central Plains, 18-36”, snout mottled black and with, black bands encroach on red bands dorsally , red bands extend onto belly- may cross it or be separated by black bar; n. Texas
panhandle, w. Oklahoma, e. and w. Kansas, e. Colorado, and sc. And sw. Nebraska.
Pale, 18-33 ½ “, snout light orange with black flecks, orange often replaced red, midline area of belly with a few scattered black marks; w. Nebraska, w. South Dakota, se. and nc Wyoming and se. and c Montana.
Red, 21-42”, black border of red band extends to first scale rows, several side blotches may be present; nw. Mississippi west to ne. Oklahoma, north to se. Indiana, e. Illinois, ne. Iowa, and extreme se. South Dakota.
Utah, 16-28 ¼ “, snout black or light with black blotch on top an tip, black bands
expanded dorsally, often fusing and interrupting red rings, black0margined red bands
extend to first scale row or edge of belly scales; wc. Colorado, ne., c., and sw. Utah, and nc. Arizona.
Note: Coast Plains Mile Snake (an intergraded Scarlet Kingsnake) and Eastern Mile
Snake, with light collar and reddish dorsal blotches reaching belly scales, occur from s. New Jersey to ne North Carolina.
Usually discovered under rotting logs or sumps or damp trash. Secretive and usually not seen in the open except at night. It eats small rodents, birds, lizards, and snakes- include venous spies. In the north, it is often mistake for the Copperhead, in the south for the Eastern Coral Snake. Its common name is based on the absurd belief that it milks cows, take prodigious amounts in the process. The adult size of the Milk Snake varies geographically. North American subspecies do not attain the great length of neothropoca population. In our range the species reached its greats length in the  northeast states and adjacent Canada. Adults in the Southeast are smallest. Record longevity in captivity exceeds 21 years.