November 3, 2020
Conservation status:
Special Concern
The Eastern Milksnake is a non-venomous constrictor in the family Colubridae.
Identifying features:
- Grey/tan in colour with alternating red or reddish brown blotches that are distinctly outlined in black along its body.
- Can grow to over a metre in length.
Habitat:
- They live in a wide variety of natural and human-modified habitats. Such habitats include prairies, meadows, pastures, hayfields, rocky outcrops, rocky hillsides and forests (deciduous, coniferous, and mixed.
Behaviour:
- The milksnake can lay 8 to 16 eggs from late May to July. Several females lay eggs at a single egg-laying site, often within several centimetres of each other
- They are opportunistic predators consuming small-sized prey such as the young of other snakes, amphibians, invertebrates, rodents, reptiles and sometimes fish.
Predators of Eastern Milksnakes include:
- bullfrogs
- brown Thrashers
- raccoons
- coyotes
- hawks
- owls
- foxes
- skunks
- other snakes - including the Eastern Milksnake itself!
- weasels and shrews may pose a threat to eggs and young hibernating
- domestic and feral dogs and cats
Photo credit: Joe Crowley
