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ReptileTerrestrialEasy
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Milk Snake
Lampropeltis triangulum
Milk Snake. A popular, harmless New World colubrid that mimics the venomous coral snake with bright red, black, and yellow/white bands. Requires deep substrate.
Class:Squamata
Order:Squamata
Family:Colubridae
Subfamily:Colubrinae
Genus:Lampropeltis
Species:Lampropeltis triangulum
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
40 - 60 %
Day temperature
25 - 29 °C
Night temperature
20 - 24 °C
Adult size
200 cm
UVB
Low - Medium
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Distributed across North, Central, and South America, adapting to pine forests, grasslands, deserts, and jungles. Often found near barns hunting rodents.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Family Colubridae. Features Batesian mimicry, copying the venomous coral snake to deter predators. Common subspecies in the trade include *L. t. sinaloae*, *L. t. campbelli*, and *L. t. hondurensis*. Harmless and non-venomous.
Behavior and Habits: Shy, crepuscular, and nocturnal. They are active burrowers. Hatchlings can be flighty (treadmilling). When threatened, they may release musk from their cloaca.
Morphology: Reaches 90-120 cm. Brightly colored alternating bands of red, black, and yellow (or white). Head is narrow and matches the pattern. Sexual dimorphism is not externally visible; sexing requires professional probing.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Horizontal terrarium (minimum 100x45x45 cm for adults). Provide a deep, loose substrate (5-10 cm) of aspen shavings or fine coco-fiber for burrowing. Include tight, low hides. Secure enclosure with locks.
Lighting and Heating: Provide a temperature gradient: 22-25°C on the cool side and a warm spot (heat mat) at 29-31°C. Never use commercial hot rocks. Low 5-7% UVB is beneficial.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain moderate humidity (40-50%). Provide a humid hide filled with damp sphagnum moss during shed cycles to prevent retained scales. Provide a clean water bowl.
Feeding and Supplementation: Strictly solitary and ophiophagous (will eat other snakes); house singly. Feed frozen-thawed mice using tongs. Pinkies for neonates, large mice for adults. Do not handle for 48 hours post-feeding.
Compatibility: Strictly solitary. Never house together.
Health and Common Diseases: Watch for respiratory issues from damp substrates. Retained sheds on tail tip can cause necrosis. Ensure a damp hide is available.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Distributed across North, Central, and South America, adapting to pine forests, grasslands, deserts, and jungles. Often found near barns hunting rodents.
Origin
Selective breeding and cultivarsExtra-Amazon South AmericaCentral America and CaribbeanNorth AmericaCosmopolitan or introduced
Reptile profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 200 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 200 cm. The ReptTraits v1.2 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 200 cm for this species, recorded as total length (TL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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