Caring for your... Pets and Pet Supplies Hemel Hempstead Milk Snake Welwyn Garden City Lifespan: 15- 20 years Average size: approx. 60-100cm in length Natural Habitat: Woodland and Grassland General Information Milk Snakes come from forests woodlands and grasslands of Central America. They are one of the easiest snake species to keep and easy to handle. This makes them great pets for older children. Feeding Milk Snakes are carnivores and require a diet of defrosted rodents. This can be provided by offering different sized mice, depending on the snakes age and size. Hatchling milk snakes will need feeding every 5-7 days on pinkies. As the snake grows, you can offer two pinkies to cater for the growing appetite. After this period, you can move onto bigger food sources such as fluff mice. These should be offered every 5-7days. Eventually, your milk snake will be ready to take adult mice. At this point you should feed you snake every 7-10 days. No supplement is required as they will get all their nutrients from the mouse itself. However, it is important that any food is defrosted fully and at room temperature. Do not use boiling water or a microwave to defrost your snake food as this can affect the quality. Fresh water should constantly be available within a bowl. Your snake may choose to bath in this during hot weather or before shedding its skin. This should be changed daily to ensure that it is kept fresh. Housing Baby milk snakes will require very little room and will feel more secure in a small, secure, well ventilated tub. As your snake grows, it will require more room. A good sized, escape proof vivarium with good ventilation is the most suitable housing for a milk snake. The minimum cage size for an adult milk snake is a 90cm vivarium. It is possible to keep adult milk snakes in groups but should always be separated for feeding. Temperature: All reptiles are cold blooded and need an external heat source to maintain their body temperature. Each species of snake will require different degrees of heating. By heating one end of the cage, this will allow a temperature gradient and allow your snake to choose its ideal temperature. Gentle heat can be provided by using heat mats. Create a temperature gradient of 20oc at the cool end and 28oc at the hot end. A nesting site will be required at either end to allow your snake to choose a suitable temperature. The cage temperature can drop to 16oc at night when the lights are off. A heat mat should cover about a quarter of the Top Tip… vivarium floor. All temperatures can be controlled by a thermostat. “Offering branches will Lighting: Milk snakes are nocturnal and gain all the Vitamin D3 (UV) from their diet. However, they will give interest within the still require a light source, provided as a florescent vivarium and make use of the height” tube. They should be given access to light for 10-12 hours per day. Humidity: Humidity is important to milk snakes, especially during the shedding period. This can be provided within your snakes hide box, by offering damp vermiculite or sphagnum moss. Furnishing: The floor should be covered with a suitable substrate such as aspen or beech chip bark. Milk snakes will require a nest boxes to sleep in during the day. They will also require branches for climbing around the enclosure. Cleaning: Remove all droppings as soon as they defecate. Water and food bowls should be cleaned daily. Vivariums should be completely cleaned out and disinfected with a reptile safe disinfectant every 6-8 weeks. Health It is important that your milk snake is kept in good health. Any change in behaviour or condition needs to be looked at and veterinary treatment may be required. A healthy milk snake will have bright eyes, good scale condition, moves normally and feeds regularly. Below is a table to show some common health problems which can affect milk snakes. Health Issue Symptoms and Causes Suggested Action Mouth Rot Cheesy deposits appear within the Consult with an exotic animal mouth. veterinarian for antibiotic treatment. Respiratory Fluid or mucus appearing from the Contact an exotic animal veterinarian Problems nose. for antibiotic treatment. Shedding Bad scale condition, glassed eyes. Increase humidity in nest box or problems Caused by low humidity or internal contact veterinarian in worst cases. infection. Some reptiles are able to carry a form of salmonella. Salmonella is most usually contracted by ingestion. Good hygiene and washing hands after handling or cleaning your milk snake should be sufficient to prevent any risk of infection. Milk Snake Checklist... It is important that you have everything that your Milk Snake will need to make sure that they stay happy and healthy. These items are listed below: ✓ Appropriately sized vivarium ✓ 2% UVB lighting ✓ Suitable sized frozen food ✓ Heat mat ✓ Water bowl ✓ Thermostat ✓ Branches, Bark and cage decor ✓ Reptile `Disinfectant spray ✓ Hide boxes ✓ Spagnum moss and vermiculite ✓ Aspen or Beech chips ✓ Vivarium Lock The information on this Care Sheet is not a substitute for veterinary care. If you need additional Information, please ask a member of staff or contact your veterinarian as appropriate..