Description: The eastern milk snake averages 24 to 36 inches in total length (including tail), although specimens as long as 52 inches in total length have been measured. It has smooth and shiny scales. The dorsal color pattern consists of brownish dorsal saddles, which are edged with black. The dorsal saddles are sometimes reddish or reddish brown in southern areas of its range. The pattern on the top and sides of the snake has also been described as three (or possibly five) series of black-bordered brown (reddish brown sometimes) blotches along the length of the snake on a gray or tan ground. The blotches in the dorsal series are large, while the blotches in the two (or possibly four) lateral series are smaller. The belly pattern is black and white checks (often irregular).
Habitat: Across the wide range of this species, habitat varies; typically, milk snakes prefer to live in forested regions or areas of open woodland. However, they can also be found in swamps, prairie, farmland, rocky slopes, some semi-arid/chaparral areas, and sand dunes/beaches. In some situations, milk snakes also migrate seasonally; during the winter, they may move to higher/drier habitats for hibernation, and then moister habitats in time for the summer. Depending on subspecies, milk snakes enter hibernation from late October or November to mid-April.
Range: This species is found throughout the northeastern United States as far south as northern Alabama and west to Minnesota and Iowa.
Diet: Young milk snakes typically eat crickets and other insects, slugs, and earthworms; in the western U.S., juveniles also feed on small lizards and other young snakes. Adults' diet is primarily small mammals, but frequently includes lizards (especially skinks). They are also known to eat birds and their eggs, frogs, fish, and other snakes (including venomous species like coral snakes and rattlesnakes) and their eggs.
Reproduction: Milk snakes are oviparous, laying an average of about 10 eggs per clutch, although that number may vary by region. The milk snake mates from early May to late June. In June and July, the female lays three to 24 eggs beneath logs, boards, rocks, and rotting vegetation. The eggs are oval in shape, and white in color. Eggs range from 1 to 1.7 inches in length. The eggs incubate for about two months, and hatch around August or September. The average hatchling in Virginia measures 8.2 inches in total length and weighs 0.14 ounces.
Status: The milk snake is listed as of least concern by the IUCN (a wildlife conservation union), but in some areas, they may face significant pressure due to pet-trade collection
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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