Snake ID please

[mostasteless]

It was found in NJ, I think its a king snake but I want to be sure. It is a bit aggressive if that helps to ID.

Thanks,
John

 

[mostasteless]

Wow, pics ar a bit bigger than expected, I'll fix that.

 

[Hedorah99]

its an eastern milksnake. if you are going to keep it, have it in a very secure tank, they are masters of escape.

 

[Hedorah99]

ps, it prolly won't eat the wax worm, try small slugs, worms or even a tiny pinkie mouse.

 

[mostasteless]

Thanks, I was looking for pikie's but no place in my area had any small enough. The only slugs I found were canned, do you think it will eat them?

 

[Hedorah99]

no idea, i have never tried. worth a shot though. if you cannot get it to eat i would suggest releasing it real soon just so it can get situated beofre it gets too cold out.

 

[Beardo]

Milksnakes eat small lizards and rodents. They do not eat invertebrates.

 

[mostasteless]

no idea, i have never tried. worth a shot though. if you cannot get it to eat i would suggest releasing it real soon just so it can get situated beofre it gets too cold out.

Absolutely, the last thing I want to do bring it to an untimely end. I'll make a few calls at work tomorrow and see if any places have pinkies small enough. It is just under the dia of a pencil so should I look for something about 1" in length and cut it in half longwise or should I go smaller. Sorry for all the questions but I'm a scorpion guy and very limited in my knowledge of reptiles. I did do quite a bit of searching but couldn't find any info on caring for a snake this small.

 

[mostasteless]

Actually now that I think of it could I get a larger pinkie and just chop it up into more managable pieces?

 

[Hedorah99]

Milksnakes eat small lizards and rodents. They do not eat invertebrates.

eastern milksnakes will. i have raised several from eggs at the zoo in Bridgeport and they have gladly taken worms when no other food was available.

 

[Galapoheros]

I would try a pinkie. Petco usually has small pinkies. Is there a Petco over there? It may handle something bigger than you think it can. If it tries and can't, it will just give up. I've had allot of snakes and I've never had one choke on something that was too big. I've heard of people worry about this before but I've never seen it happen. Since I said that, we may hear a story of two. If a snake does appear to choke, I would think something else is wrong with the snake. Too weak, dehydrated,..something. Healthy ones just give up. If it tries and can't handle it, at least you know that it is going to eat. Then you could cut the head off and offer that later. Good luck with it! I would like to know how it goes. At the Petco here in Tx, they have really small pinkies in the freezer. They also have medium sized ones too so I have to be careful of which package I get. Cheaper to get individual ones that the people go get for you.

With a heavy kitchen knife, press down while it is still frozen or partially thawed and it won't be messy. Sounds kind of bad but we all eat dead things. Even vegetarians. It sucks but, what are you gonna do....life and death and life and death.... Just watched the Simpsons episode where Lisa became a vegetarian. That was a good one....HA!

 

[Sequin]

Actually now that I think of it could I get a larger pinkie and just chop it up into more managable pieces?

you have no idea how gross this actually is, until you do it.... its a bloody mess

~Meagan~

 

[Stardust]

wow....this looks like a real fine snake ! Seems like a milksnake to me though...lolx...

 

[Empi]

That is a awesome snake! Nice find! I wish I could go outside and find one of those. Must be nice!

 

[mostasteless]

Snakes like that are rare in my area (or well hidden ) usually all I see are garters and the occasional ribbon. I was quite excited by the find, too bad its sibling didn't make it (found them both in the pool, one was swimming one wasn't). The nearest petco is about 40min away from me but only about 15 from work so I'll make a stop on my way home today. As for chopping I know it won’t be a pretty site so I would do the cutting while frozen in hopes to keep the mess to a minimum, I don't think the gore will bother me much, I have been around while deer were gutted, and I sure hope it isn't messier than that

Thanks again for all the help.

John

 

[mostasteless]

I just got a few pinkeys, they were the smallest they had (body's were about an inch long) he had no problem killing it but after getting its head most of the way down it spit it back out. do you think they may still be too big and i should chop it up or maybe crush its skull so it can take it down easier? It was live when fed.
Thanks

 

[mostasteless]

I just gave it a try but I have to go to school so I will have to wait until I get home to see if it worked.