Milk Snake Facts

Series Summary

Reptiles are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers. Amphibians, such as frogs, toads, salamanders and newts, are cold-blooded animals that metamorphose from a juvenile, water-breathing form to an adult, air-breathing form. Both reptiles and amphibians are superficially similar and at times are kept as pets. Other small, exotic animals kept as pets include small mammals and invertebrates. An invertebrate is an animal lacking a vertebral column, and this group includes 97% of all animal species. In this free video series, a published biologist provides information on a variety of reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and one small mammal. Discover the eating habits of the corn snake, the habitat of the tiger salamander or the mating habits of the iguana. Learn about hermit crabs, African pygmy hedgehogs and the Chilean rose hair tarantula. With this information, general biology knowledge can be improved and potential pet owners can become better informed.

Video Transcript

"So, this is a milk-snake. This is one of the many sub species, Lampropeltis triangulum, and this one is sinaloa. This is the sinaloan milk-snake, found basically in northern Mexico, from the Sinora Desert, all the way down to Sinaloa. Milk-snakes are, are found in many sub-species, through out North, Central, and South America. Many different color morphs and different patterns. The sinaloan milk-snake is defined by it's range and by the number of bands that it has. This snake is found primarily in woodland regions. It's a non- venomous species, though. A lot of people think that they're venomous, because of their banded red, yellow, and black coloring. And, they do overlap a highly venomous snake, the coral snakes. And, they are an example of an animal that mimics a dangerous animal, and therefore is afforded some protection, by resembling an animal that is dangerous. The bird, the snake eating birds, have evolved to avoid all red, yellow, and black banded snakes, whether they're harmless or not. But this is a constricting species. It eats primarily small mammals. It will eat, you know, lizards. It will eat birds, and they are also known for eating other snakes. They will readily eat other snake species. They do, they are egg layers, and they lay fourteen to sixteen eggs, approximately thirty to forty days after mating. They mate generally from March to May. And then the eggs will emerge somewhere between July and September."