Saturday, July 9, 2011

Milk Snake As Pet - Is It a Good Choice?



Have you ever considered purchasing a snake as a pet? If you have, there is one important thing to do, which is choosing a specific species. In pet-shops there is great variety of snakes available, all requiring different type of care and attention. If you have no experience in having this kind of animal, and you still want one, there are a few species, suitable for you.
One of the snakes often being chosen by beginners, is a milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum), because it is so easy to take care of. There is a whole bunch of sub-species, the one commonly chosen because of beautiful red-black-white color is Sinaloan Milk Snake. What is more, and very important, they are no threat to human beings. But, there are still some essential rules you have to follow, in order to keep your pet in good health. Some of them, are written below.
If you plan to have more than just one snake, the specimens must be kept singly. It is very important, because all Lampropeltis species are cannibals, there is a risk of a larger snake eating the smaller one. These reptiles are sedentary ones, so they do not need so much space to feel comfortably in a terrarium. Even a 15-20 gallon should do for them. It is an important factor if you do not want to have a huge aquarium in the living room.
The temperature required for this species is between 75 and 85 degrees. Unlike some other types of snakes, the milk snakes do not need a temperature drop at night, so there is no risk you forget to turn down the heater for the night, and as a result hurt the animal.

The issue of feeding is not a problem. The ones living in the wild usually eat small rodents, but also birds, eggs, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. They also may eat other snakes, like I mentioned before. In captivity the most common prey are mice. For young snakes - pinky ones, for adults - adequate to their size, once a week.
If you are seriously interested in having a milk snake as pet, you may need some more detailed advices about taking care of it. I suggest you to check out the Milk Snake Care Guide at http://www.squidoo.com/sinaloan-milk-snake-care-guide-review.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6005416

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