Central Plains Milk Snake

Conservation Status:
Stable

Description:
Milk snakes are characterized by smooth scales, a bold black and white pattern on the belly, and brilliantly contrasting patterns on the head, body, and tail.  The pattern is usually black-bordered red or orange bands, separated by narrower yellow, white, or cream bands.  In western Kansas, the top of the head is usually black or orange.  Their normal length is 16-28 inches, but individuals up to 52 inches have been recorded.  Males grow larger than females.

Range:
Most of Kansas, Oklahoma, central Colorado, and extreme northern Texas

Habitat:
Rocky ledges and hillsides along streams, and edges of woodlands

Diet:
In the wild, they eat primarily small lizards and snakes, and will also eat baby mice.  In the zoo, they eat pinkies (baby mice).

Life Cycle:
Central Plains Milk Snakes usually breed in the spring, and the female lays eggs in June or July.  The eggs hatch after 40-50 days.  Their life span in the wild is unknown, but captive milk snakes have lived up to 21 years.

Did You Know?

·        Central Plains Milk Snakes are active hunters, usually hunting by day.  During the hottest part of the summer, they sometimes become nocturnal.

·        Milk snakes are non-venomous.  They kill their prey by constriction (squeezing tightly to suffocate prey).

·        Instead of basking in the open like most snakes, milk snakes prefer to stay hidden under sun-warmed rocks. 

·        They spend their winters in rocky crevices, or in the burrows of small mammals.

·        There is a high demand for these snakes in the commercial pet trade.  Capture for the pet trade has led to a decrease in their numbers in the wild.

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