Animal-World > Reptiles - Amphibians > Snakes > Tangerine Honduran Milksnake

Tangerine Honduran Milksnake

Family: ColubridaeLampropeltis triangulum hondurensisPhoto © Animal-World

   The Tangerine Honduran Milksnake is a beautiful color variation of the Milksnake.

   This good looking Milksnake is easy to feed and very hardy. It makes a wonderful pet for both the beginner and the experienced herpetologist. The Tangerine Honduran Milksnake is very gentle, docile, and handleable.

For more Information on keeping Snakes see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Herptile

Distribution:    Tangerine Honduran Milksnakes are found in Central America. Specifically they are found in Honduras.

Description:    It is a beautifully colored snake marked in broad bands of brilliant tangerine and red that are separated by narrower black bands. With it's smooth scales and fairly slender body it is not only lovely to look at, but a pleasure to hold. They will reach about reach three to four feet in length..

Feeding:   They are a constrictor and in the wild their diet consists of lizards and snakes. In captivity they will also eat rodents and birds. Feed once or twice a week, depending on the size of the food and the size of the snake. As you get to know your snake, you'll learn what its feeding needs are. Fresh water in a shallow dish should always be available.

Environment:    The milksnake, like the kingsnake is a carnivore and will eat other snakes. They must be housed separately except when they are being bred.
   Milksnakes should be housed in a woodland or desert type terrarium. See the different terrarium set-ups described under Basic Reptile Care: Housing for more information. The terrarium needs to be a 20 gallon size or larger. The milksnake will need a hiding place, a small water dish, and moderate humidity.

Temperature and Lighting requirements:    They do well at 72° to 88° F in the daytime, and 67° to 72° F at night. Full spectrum lighting is important for your milksnakes well being and its long-term maintenance. You can use a substrate heating device for basic heating. For additional heat, you can add a full spectrum incandescent daytime bulb and a blacklight bulb or red incandescent bulb for nighttime heating. Be sure you use a thermometer so you don't let the terrarium become overheated!
   For more detailed information see the Basic Reptile and Amphibian Care: Housing.

Breeding/Reproduction:    These snakes, if not babies, need to be probe sexed for positive sex identification. They are egg layers, and will lay up to 24 eggs that hatch in about 10 weeks. The average hatchlings are only about eight to ten inches long, with an average adult reaching 38" to 4 feet in length. Some specimens are larger with hatchlings reportedly up to 12" long and larger adults that grow in excess of 4 feet, with very large specimens even exceeding 6 feet in length

Availability: TheTangerine Honduran Milksnake and many color variations of milksnake are generally available as pets due successful captive breeding.

Author: Clarice Brough, CRS

Lastest Comments on Tangerine Honduran Milksnake View all 8 comments on Tangerine Honduran Milksnake Add Your Comment

Rachel - 2009-02-27 We have three: a tricolor female, a tangerine male, and an albino female. They are all only a few months old. The albino was only added last week and she is very bitey around feeding time. We keep all three in a 30 gal and have not had any issues thus far. As a matter of fact they like to den together. We use coconut bedding atop calisand. We also have a little tupperware dish with moistened terrarium grass and they love to hide in it. It was what helped out tri female with her first shed. All of them are albout 20-25" in length and are comfortably eating a pinky and fuzzy or two fuzzies each week (although they are starting to hunt for more). Overall they are great! Click For Replies (1) Anonymous - 2012-02-02 you shouldnt keep them together because if one of them goes through a growth spert and gets bigger tan the other two it will eat them Reply

Spencer Baird - 2011-04-23 I just bought a small tangerine and she's beautiful. Does anyone know of a place with a pet guide for tangerine honduran milksnakes though? Click For Replies (1) Charlie Roche - 2011-04-25 I don't know of a place for an actually Pet Guide for this little guy but there is quite a bit of information on the Animal World site and also other places on the Internet. Lots of luck. Reply

bruce - 2011-01-23 Cool snake I have one and she's great even with the kids her name is little miss and she's 3 feet long now. Reply

ronald adkins - 2010-10-21 That is a cool snake..... lol. Click For Replies (1) good boy - 2011-01-01 I know right! I might get one! Reply

Ian Amaro - 2008-05-15 I just got my awesome new snake, his name is Chief. He is very colorful, he has black, red, and orange on him. I have him in a 20 gallon tank with a rock and a log. He is about a foot and a half. He likes to be held, unless your hand comes up behind then he gets really scared. He is only about 1 year old. I wish he was older so he was bigger. Well thats what I have to say about my new snake Chief. Reply

Brandon Runyon - 2008-04-19 My Tangerine Honduran Milksnake is about a foot and a half or close to it. His name is Ace and he is generally very docile, but can be aggressive if you startle him or tap at his head. He has a distinct stripe on one side of his body but doesn't have it on the other side. Ace was lost for five months, but my dad found him under the carpet in the basement back bedroom. Ace is a very fast eater, he can eat a pretty good sized thawed-pinky mouse in 25-30 seconds or less. Reply

Add your comment!

View all 8 comments on Tangerine Honduran Milksnake

Back to Snakes