We will cover aspects of their reproduction at another time, in a separate article.
Climate cycling might be necessary to stimulate breeding behavior, however. A mean annual daylight length of 12 hours is enough if you are not creating a climate cycle. We do this to cycle all our colubrids at the same time. We provide a light cycle that simulates our Canadian climate with increased daylight in the summers (14 hours) to a reduction (10 hours) in the winter. This helps all animals with their circadian rhythm that can affect everything from eating habits to mating behavior. While the importance of UV lighting may be questionable, the presence of a daylight cycle is still a necessity. A weekly misting can help with maintaining those levels during the drier winter months as well. We have found much success by providing this to all our colubrid species. A simple method of making one is by placing moist sphagnum moss inside the hide at the cool end of the enclosure. We are able to maintain this range by providing a humid hide all year round. The majority of bacteria species thrive in more humid environments and the health of our animals is paramount. They can tolerate higher humidity but we prefer to keep it lower to prevent an increase in bacterial load in the enclosure. Being a montane species, Black milksnakes are cold tolerant but avoid temperatures below 68F for more than a couple of days.īlack Milksnakes do best when the humidity levels are within the 50-70% range. As for adults, we recommend a gradient of 74-83F which leaves some room for fluctuations depending on your room and local climate. Hatchlings are raised in plastic tubs with a warm side of 83-85F and a cool end around 74-76F. Thermoregulation is a basic need for all reptiles and we like to provide our animals with options to pick their comfort zone. We provide our animals that are in cages with as wide of a thermal gradient as possible. There have also been reports of wild gravid females basking in sunlight patches that reach temperatures of 92F and higher. We do maintain our ambient temperatures cool enough (72-74F) most of the year for all our colubrids but found our Black Milksnakes to behave no differently even during the warmer months. However, we have found our animals basking in spots that reach 94F and have found no change in behavior or fat accumulation due to the warmer basking option. The majority of caresheets that are out there will reference their high elevations in lieu of keeping Black milksnakes at cooler temperatures. We have found that using a dry hardwood chip keeps the bacteria levels down while the humid hide we offer allows that option for increasing humidity as well. Substrate choices can vary but be sure to not allow for excessive humidity build-up due to the substrate.
Providing hides will also help your snake adjust to its new surroundings by offering a retreat when nervous. One placed in the cooler end of the thermal gradient and the other in the warm section. We recommend having two hide options for your snake. More height may be provided but not as necessary as they are primarily terrestrial animals. Due to their large size, adult Black Milksnakes will require a minimum cage size of 4’x2’x1′. Hatchlings may be raised in plastic tubs but they very quickly outgrow this and would be more suited in an enclosure like a 24″x18″x18″ Exo Terra tank or enclosure of equivalent square footage. Couple this with their bulkier body shape, Black Milksnakes are sometimes called the “Poor Man’s Indigo” due to their resemblance to Indigo Snakes ( Drymarchon couperi). gaigeae will consistently reach the 6-foot mark with some individuals and localities reaching 7 feet in length. Limon, Costa Rica) to retain genetic vigor in captive populations. There are now a handful of breeders that are working with locality animals (eg. We suspect ours to be of the same origin. Many captive-bred lines are still from this original zoo bloodline. A species that hails from the higher elevations (4000ft-7000ft) of Costa Rica and Panama, Black milksnakes were first established in captivity by the San Antonio Zoo. Hatchlings are born at around 13-15 inches with a tricolored banded pattern and gradually fade into a solid black snake as adults. An ontogenic change that is so drastic, it seems like two different snakes when you are the keeper of Black Milksnakes ( Lampropeltis triangulum gaigeae).
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