I transferred the money to Stefan and the next few weeks of waiting were tedious, to say the least. But after some deliberations with my wife, Lori, I decided to go for it. The asking price was more than I had ever spent on a snake, and it was a tough decision. I had never imported snakes before, and this was during the pre-Internet days, meaning I couldn't get photos emailed to me, so I had to take Stefan‘s word on how they looked and decide whether to take the plunge or not. Less commonly kept milk snake subspecies include:Ĭentral Plains milk snake ( L. These are the most commonly kept pet milk snakes: I figured the albino Hondurans would demand at least that much, if not more. ruthveni (the Ruthven‘s kingsnake, which is similar in appearance to the Honduran milk snake) were selling for $1,000 per hatchling. I was several years into breeding reptiles as a side business, and I knew these snakes could be my big break. Seeing as the market in his country was not yet ready for snake mutations, he offered the albino Hondurans to me. Lucky for me (and the future of the Honduran color market), Stefan and his customer felt differently. At the time, color mutations were frowned upon in Germany, and many people thought the animals should be euthanized so they could not reproduce. Stefan runs M&S Reptilian, and one of his customers was offering a couple of baby albino Hondurans. I was fortunate enough to get a call from a good friend in Germany, Stefan Broghammer. In 1994, the reptile trade was just starting to explode with captive breeding and the onset of color mutations. hondurensis) holds a special place in my heart, because the Honduran was the snake that really launched my career as a full-time snake breeder. I can‘t say I prefer one type of milk snake over the other, but I will say that the Honduran milk snake ( L. Pueblan Milksnake ( Lampropeltis triangulum cambelli).Įver since I saw that pair of Pueblans, I have been on a journey that has lasted more than 20 years, and it has allowed me to work with and produce most of the 24 milk snake subspecies. When I saw the first baby Pueblan milk snakes on a vendor‘s table at a reptile show, I had to have them! Back then they were rare, and their prices were certainly a lot higher than they are today. My love affair with milk snakes began when I was a young, aspiring reptile breeder. It more resembles some of the rattlesnake species that occur within its range-another example of successful mimicry. The eastern milk‘s range is the northeast region of North America, where there are no coral snakes. triagulum), which does not display the bright colors or triads. The one subspecies that bucks the trend is the eastern milk snake ( L. There‘s an old rhyme people use to differentiate harmless milk and kingsnakes from dangerous coral snakes: "Red next to yellow is a deadly fellow, and red next to black is a friend of Jack‘s.” This is because the red triads of the harmless snakes adjoin black triads, whereas in coral snakes, they join yellow bands. Potential predators, upon seeing such alternating bands, know to stay away. Many milk snakes inhabit the same habitat as the venomous coral snake ( Micruroides spp.), which sports triads of the same color. The color of the triads, too, is a perfect example of mimicry as a defense mechanism. These bands are called triads, and the varying amount of triads is what helps identify the different milk snake subspecies. Milk snakes, comprising 24 subspecies of Lampropeltis triangulum, are some of the most beautiful snakes in the world.Ĭommon among nearly all the milk snakes are the red, yellow (sometimes white) and black bands that contribute to a milk snake‘s stunning appearance.
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