Description: Also called the Atlantic Central American Milksnake. It is characterized by having a narrow and usually broken snout band, red body rings that number 16 to 22, heavily tipped scales that typically results in the inner triads being obscured with black pigment creating bicolored adults, and a scale count at midbody of 23 or 21.
Habitat: This snake occurs in rocky semi-desert regions, arid tropical scrub forest, mesquite grassland, and other habitats around the Mexican Plateau.
Range: Introduced into the United States. This species occurs in the Mexican states of Colima, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Puebla, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Sonora, and Veracruz, and it is likely that it also occurs in Guanajuato, Morelos, Nayarit, and western San Luis Potosí. Area of occupancy is unknown but large. This species is presented by a large number of collection sites (e.g. see GBIF database) and locations.
Diet: Adults feed mainly on rodents such as voles, mice, and rats, but will also eat birds, bird eggs, lizards, snake eggs, or other snakes, including venomous species like coral snakes and rattlesnakes. Hatchlings seem to feed mainly on other young snakes. When prey is captured, it is contricted until it suffocates. It is then swallowed whole.
Reproduction: Milk snakes lay elliptical eggs in rotting logs or humus in the spring or early summer. These eggs are laid in clutch sizes of 2 to 17, usually about 10. Eggs hatch after an incubation period of 28 to 39 days with hatchlings measuring from 14 to 28 cm long upon hatching. The young are always brightly colored, though color dulls as maturity is reached. It takes 3 to 4 years to reach full maturity.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large extent of occurrence, large number of locations, and because the species is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
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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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