# New Milk Snake, are they good pets?



## Reece (Jan 10, 2009)

I am getting a Milk Snake tomorrow, i payed £50 for it and it comes with a viv and all the stuff with it, the hides, substrate and lighting. Are these good pets to have? The snake is 2 years old, and the owner always handled it but not for the last few months so might take bit of time to get it used to it again.

Also does it NEED a heat mat, because the guy said it doesnt need one, i think the lighting will keep it warm, not sure yet.

I am newish to Reptiles, i got 2 Beardies about a month ago, and really intrested in exotics.

Let me know Cheers.
Reece.


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## mike12 (Aug 30, 2008)

what was the guy using for heating??? what do you plan to use??? i prefer heatmats for things like milks, kings and corns


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## aj_0121 (Nov 26, 2007)

i think the best way is if your using a RUB (really useful box) use a heat mat connected to a stat which is a must or in a viv use a dimmer stat cant go wrong with a dimmer and depending on what size viv get a colour bulb from your local reptile shop about £1.50 :no1:


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## Reece (Jan 10, 2009)

All he said was he don't have a heat mat, he uses a normal household bulb in it, which is best to use for viewing, but its warm enough in the viv. i think i heard him say he has 2 lights, so i'm guessing he's using a proper spot one on a thermostat. His job is going to schools and parties showing the animals to kids and stuff so he does know what hes doing so ill just wait and c 2moz what he uses and that. And if he dont use a thermostat ill grab one from the pet shop. are milks good pets for a first time snake owner? 


cheers.


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## Sam'n'Droo (May 31, 2008)

*Milksnake..*

Hi,
What kind of viv does the snake have? This will determine how you'll need to heat it. A milksnake needs a heat source beneath it at one end of the viv, a normal household bulb will provide light, and alot of heat obviously, but not the sort that this snake needs. They dont bask like lizards and therefore dont need heating lights, they dont require humidity so dont need a heater that increases the air temperature, they need heat from a source such as a heatmat. This should be under the housing if plastic and inside if the housing is wooden. Either way it will need a thermostat to control the temperature. If you have a bulb inside the viv make sure it has a cover, this needs to be pretty well fitted so as the snake cannot get to touch the bulb. If you need to know more look out for Milksnake care sheets, there are a couple on here, or google it, there are alot out there.

Good luck!


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## lizardkid (Dec 30, 2008)

In answer to your first question presented in the name of this thread, Milk Snakes are easy to care for, small, colourful and relatively tame. So yes, almost any species of Milk Snake would make a good pet, as long as the snake you intend to buy is accepting feeder mice as prey; some milk and Kingsnakes show a strong preferance for lizard prey, although this problem is far more common in some species of hatchling kingsnakes.

Anyway, most people prefer to use heater pads. The Heater Pad should cover no more than half of the vivarium so the Milk Snake can move to the cool and hot ends of the terrarium. You might be familiar with creating warm and cool ends of vivariums if you've had Beardies.

A light that gives off heat, placed at one end of the viv, would also be a good plan. Remember, the light must be able to bring the temperature up to *30C* in the half of the vivarium it should cover.


Any means of heating should be controlled by a thermostat, because you need to maintain the correct temperature of 30C in the hot end and 21-26C in the cool end, no matter what particular means of heating you decide on.


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## bluerain (Jun 7, 2008)

Milks do make great pets, and £50 for snake, viv etc was a steal!!! I"d get it a mat bout 1/3rd floor space of viv, and a stat to control it..plus a good digi thermometer to monitor your temps!! milks are quite shy and love to hide, so lots of hides and maybe aspen substrate would be good!! They usually prefer two smaller, compared to one larger food item, and calm down well with regular handling...enjoy!!!


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## Soleilduparadis (Oct 29, 2008)

A lot of good advice has already been given... Just wanted to add that I think MILKSNAKES ARE GREAT! Have got a Pueblan Milksnake myself and she's looovely (see picture below).

Have fun with yours and don't be shy asking more questions if you're not sure about something... : victory:


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## Stavros88 (Dec 6, 2008)

The only thing to watch out for is when you are handling the little fella: my Milksnake is nervous about EVERYTHING! the slightest bump that he's not happy about will set him off like a rocket, they move like lightning when they're still babies (I'm assuming thats what ur getting). What i do is i sit on my bed with my legs crossed when i'm handling him, this means that if he falls he just falls into my lap - i used to sit on the edge of my bed and do it, but its sooooo easy for him to wriggle out of my hands and fall to the floor that i nearly lost him a few times.


Hope this helps 

P.S. Your Milk snake may pee on u occasionally
P.P.S. He may also bite u, but it wont hurt & he'll let go once he realises that he just wont win...


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## andybe18 (Sep 25, 2008)

yes they're def fast - was quite suprised by mine when I put him on the floor to take a photo and by the time I clicked he was the other side of the room halfway behind the radiator and he is a sub adult
Great snakes, great price (he hasn't got anymore bargains has he??)
Good luck


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## rantasam (Nov 28, 2006)

Reece said:


> All he said was he don't have a heat mat, he uses a normal household bulb in it, which is best to use for viewing, but its warm enough in the viv. i think i heard him say he has 2 lights, so i'm guessing he's using a proper spot one on a thermostat. His job is going to schools and parties showing the animals to kids and stuff so he does know what hes doing so ill just wait and c 2moz what he uses and that. And if he dont use a thermostat ill grab one from the pet shop. are milks good pets for a first time snake owner?


It sounds as if the previous owner may have an infrared bulb in there if he has 2 lights. It should be pointed out firstly not to rely on a normal household bulb for heat - it will not provide sufficient heat, and having a bright light shining in the viv all the time can't be good for the snake. Any heat bulb of any sort should also have a guard fitted of course!

If it is an infra red bulb that you have in the viv already, check that the temperatures it provides are correct and that it has a 'dimming' stat connected to it. This adjusts the brightness (and therefore heat output) of the bulb to ensure that the correct temperatures are being provided.

A lot of the advice on this thread has suggested that you scrap whatever current heating system there is in the viv and instead fit a heatmat. I strongly disagree with this advice! Heats mat use in wooden vivariums is a compromised method of heating. 

The first drawback to using heatmats in vivs is where to put the heatmat itself? If you place it outside the viv then you are relying on sufficient heat conducting through the wooden base of the viv to actually heat the inside. When I tried this setup with my vivs, I found that I simply couldn't get the temperature high enough. Another problem with having the heat mat outside the viv is that you should find some way of raising the viv slightly off the heatmat so there is some small air flow between the two - this prevents thermal blocking and potentially dangerous heat build up.

So, how about putting the heat mat inside the viv instead? This also has inherent problems. If the heatmat is placed in the viv then you are exposing an electrical device to what can be from time to time a very damp environment. Spilt water bowls, spraying when your snake is coming up to shed, urination, are all potential causes of moisture in the viv and there is always a very small risk of electrocution. Another drawback of having a heat mat inside the viv itself is the snake can spend a long period of time lying directly on the heat source, which even with a thermostat can cause thermal blocking and temperatures which can burn a snake. This is more of a risk with heavily-bodied snakes such as boids, but again there is a small risk there.

A final drawback to heatmats over bulb (or ceramic) heating is the way in which they provide the heat. Heat mats are only able to heat through contact. A heatmat covering half of a viv will pretty much only heat half of the substrate on the floor of the viv. By contrast, a bulb heater will heat the air itself. This is a significant difference.. A bulb heater will, as well as heating the warm end, also actively heat the cool end. This means that you can achieve the correct thermal gradient without having to reply on the ambient temperature in the room. Heatmats on the other hand will only heat the floor of the warm end of the viv. They will provide little or no heat for the cool end, meaning that if your room temperature is 17'c, then your cool end will more than likely be 17'c! Heating a room constantly is far more expensive that correctly set up vivarium heating (unless you have LOTS of vivs). Also, there appears to be a myth that certain snakes require belly heat in order to digest. This isn't correct.. their bellys _need to be a certain temperature_ in order to break down their meals, but as long as this temperarure is provided, the snake honestly doesn't mind which direction the heat came from! Even if this was the case, a bulb/ceramic heater _*will*_ heat up the floor of the viv - just like a heatmat!

All of what I have just said isn't trying to claim that heatmats cannot work successfully in vivs - there are enough people on here who do achieve the correct temps for their snakes - although dispite a long time trying, I was never able to use them successfully. From experience, they are a heating method with a number of drawbacks and in my opinion shouldn't be considered if superior methods like ceramic heating (or infrared bulb heating) are an option.


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