Eastern Milk Snake
Eastern Milk Snake
Description: Eastern Milk Snakes are marked with Y's, X's and blotches which are brown to tan or dark reddish brown. The adults are mostly brown but sometimes reddish brown. Young are usually red or maroon an retain that color until they eventually turn brown as they age. The rest of their body is white or tan. Eastern Milk Snake’s belly scales are black and white checkered. All their scales are smooth. They prefer to stay on the ground but can climb well.
Habitat: Rocky hillsides, field edges, woodlands and roadsides. Most often found beneath boards, rocks, sheet metal, logs and other trash. Also inside rocky crevices, underground cavities, mammal burrows, old foundations or rock walls. They are particularly common around barns, in old houses and outbuildings where concentrations of prey are higher. They are nocturnal and usually not seen around in the day, although they can be seen crossing roads during the day and night.
Disposition: Eastern Milk snakes aren't venomous but they may strike and bite; they are sometimes aggressive especially young ones. They have a tendency to vibrate their tails to rustle leaves or other debris when they feel threatened.
Diet: Their name is derived from their presence in barns and other outbuildings where rodents concentrate, leading people to believe they drank the milk of cows. Adults eat mice, voles, chipmunks, and juvenile rats while the young eat baby mice, salamanders and other snakes. These snakes are constrictors, relying on their strength instead of venom to kill prey.
Habitat: Rocky hillsides, field edges, woodlands and roadsides. Most often found beneath boards, rocks, sheet metal, logs and other trash. Also inside rocky crevices, underground cavities, mammal burrows, old foundations or rock walls. They are particularly common around barns, in old houses and outbuildings where concentrations of prey are higher. They are nocturnal and usually not seen around in the day, although they can be seen crossing roads during the day and night.
Disposition: Eastern Milk snakes aren't venomous but they may strike and bite; they are sometimes aggressive especially young ones. They have a tendency to vibrate their tails to rustle leaves or other debris when they feel threatened.
Diet: Their name is derived from their presence in barns and other outbuildings where rodents concentrate, leading people to believe they drank the milk of cows. Adults eat mice, voles, chipmunks, and juvenile rats while the young eat baby mice, salamanders and other snakes. These snakes are constrictors, relying on their strength instead of venom to kill prey.