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Tangerine Honduran Milksnake

Family: Colubridae

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Lampropeltis 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.

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Latest Comments
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! Rachel 2009-02-27
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. Ian Amaro 2008-05-15
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. Brandon Runyon 2008-04-19
I own 3 honduran milk snakes, 2 tangerines (male and female), and a female tri-color. I bought the hondurans because I like the bright colors and I wanted a snake that was going to get 5 to 7 ft. My females are 2 yrs old and 5 ft long and as round as a ping pong ball, my male is the same age and only 40 inches. Males are smaller than females. I have never been bit or musked. they are great eaters and mine love to be handled. All hondurans are very brightly colored when they are young but darken as they get older. I think mine are prettier now since they have darkened. tommy linn 2007-01-13
I'm an 18 years old and I've had my Tangerine Honduran Milksnake for about a year and a half now. She originally belonged to my teacher who could no longer take care of her. Halloween (my snake) is quite friendly and curious and she loves getting her body rubbed. She has never tried to hurt me in any way shape or form, and she is also beautiful in color variation. She usually just sleeps in my hoodie and rests her head on my shoulder. She has grown a lot since I've taken her in and she is now about 4ft in length =) Jamie 2007-01-02

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