Can I keep it?
Setup
The numbers
Temperature
The cool side, 23–27°C, dropping to 21–23°C at night. This sheet states the cool side only. It gives no warm side or basking figure, so the hot end is not in our data. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.
The sheet statescool 23-27 °C / night 21-23 °C
Humidity
The sheet states40-60 %
UVB
The sheet statesZoo Med T5 HO Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia T5 HO Forest 6% bulb. With mesh obstruction: 9-12". Without mesh obstruction: 12-14". UVI of 2.0-3.0 in the basking area
Drag the sun. Milk snake is Nocturnal, so what it is doing changes with the light. The sheet states a night temperature, and the rail follows it.
Enclosure and conditions
Enclosure
Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.
Why
The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».
The sheet states48"L x 24"W x 24"H (122 x 61 x 61 cm)
What your climate adds
This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.
What it needs
Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.
Food
Diet
Feeding rhythm
Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. The sheet gives several ages on one line; this is the adult figure.
Why
The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56.
The sheet statesWild milksnakes are known to eat other snakes, small mammals, lizards, birds, and eggs. The size of your milksnake's prey should be no more than 1.5x the width of the snake at its widest point. Hatchlings - every 5-7 days / Juveniles - every 7-10 days / Adults - every 10-14 days
Daily life
Behaviour and handling
Health
When to see a vet
Hardy beginner colubrid. House SOLO (kingsnake relatives are cannibalistic). Secure the lid.
The species
Identity
Morphs
6 morphs, with how each one is inherited.
Reproduction
Good to know
- Its red-black-yellow banding mimics venomous coral snakes ('Batesian mimicry').
National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.
Questions & sources
Common questions
Is it poisonous? The colours look like a warning.
No, it is completely harmless. The red, black and white banding is mimicry of venomous coral snakes, nothing more.
Does it bite?
Rarely once it is used to you. Babies can be jumpy and may musk, but they settle with short regular handling.
Can I keep two together?
No. Milk snakes are kingsnakes and will eat other snakes, so each one needs its own enclosure.
What do I need to set it up?
A secure lockable enclosure, substrate, two hides, a water bowl, a warm end on a thermostat and feeding tongs. Nothing expensive.
https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/lampropeltis-triangulum
Others in this group
What this sheet states
Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.
UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 420 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.