Milk Snake Gallery

Tangerine Honduran Milk Snake

Milk snakes vary widely in colour and pattern. They belong to the genus Lampropeltis, and species triangulum, to which many subspecies belong. Honduran milk snakes,Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis, presents with your standard colouration of the milk snakes, being yellow, black and red bands.

The standard honduran has a broad yellowish band on the snout,with the rest of the head being black. This snake presents with around 15 to 30 red rings, 8 to 15 thin yellow bands and 15 to 30 black bands. This snake also presents with a yellow band on the head, just behind the eyes of the snake. The red bands of the snake may have black tipping on the scales.

The "tangerine phase" is a stunning colour morph that presents with varying amounts of orange where the yellow bands would normally be. Individual specimens range in having bands from a light orange to bright orange-red against red and black bands. Specimens may also show varying amounts of black tipping on the scales. Honduran milk snakes occur naturally in parts of Honduras, Nicaragua and parts of Costa Rica. Adults reach a maximum length of around 1.2m . Juveniles are 20 to 25cm when they emerge from their egg.

Pueblan Milk Snake

The peublan milk snake,Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli, has a black snout with white speckling. The body rings are around 16 red, 32 black and 16 white rings. It presents with a black head with a distinctive white band just behing the eyes. Depending on the quality of the specimen, the white bands may have black tipping, and the specimen will either have many or a few red bands.

Selective breeding has enabled hobbyists to obtain stunning specimens for their collections. A stunning specimen would exhibit clean white bands and bright red bands that run the length of the snake and no black tipping. The pueblan milk snake occurs naturally in parts of Puebla, Morelos, Oaxaco and Mexico. This snake can be found in arid environments. Pueblan milk snakes average about 70 to 90cm in length with a maximum of 1,1m.

Clutches are small, averaging around 3 to 6 long eggs. Juveniles are around 18 to 20cm in length when they emerge from their egg. A special colour morph of this snake exists, namely, "apricot phase" and also two pattern variations exist, namely, "standard" and "sock-head phase". The "standard phase" presents with a relatively thin white band behind the eyes, on the head of the snake. The "sock-head phase" presents with a thick white band that extends backward from just behind the eyes into the neck region of the snake.

"standard & sock-head phase" Apricot Pueblan Milk Snake

The "apricot phase" has varying degrees of a pink/apricot colour that presents itself where the white bands would normally occur. Specimens with wide clean "apricot" bands are very attractive and pleasant to look at.

"sock-head phase" Apricot Pueblan Milk Snake

The "sock-head phase" is very attractive to look at, but with the "apricot" colour to it, makes this snake stunning and a gem in a collection.

Mexican Milk Snake

The mexican milk snake,Lampropeltis triangulum annulata, presents with a black head and snout, red bands, black bands and yellow bands. Black tipping is absent on the red and white bands. The red bands average around 15 to 20 in number. The mexican milk snake occurs naturally in southern Texas to southern Tamaulipas to Nuevo Leon to eastern Coahuila.

Adults average around 60 to 70cm in length with a maximum of 90cm in length. Clutches are small, averaging around 6 maximum. Juveniles average around 20cm in length, when they emerge from their egg.

Sinaloan Milk Snake

The sinaloan milk snake,Lampropeltis triangulum sinaloae, has a black head with a slight white mottling on the snout, and a white ring at the angle of the jaw. The red bands are thick; the white and black bands much thinner. The red bands average around 10 to 15 in number.

The red rings do not present with black tipping but the white bands sometimes do. The sinaloan milk snake occurs naturally in parts of Sonora through to Sinaloa and up into Chihuahua, Mexico.

The sinaloan milk snake averages around 1m to 1.2m in length. The number of eggs in a clutch vary from 3 to 12 in number. The eggs are large and juveniles are around 20 to 25cm in length when they emerge from their eggs.

The sinaloan milk snake is certainly one of the most attractive of the milk snakes. It is easy to keep, this snake breeds relatively easy, feeds well and generally does well in captivity. The size and nature of this snake, makes it one of the best milk snakes to keep as a pet.

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Last updated: April 2007