Eastern milksnake
Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum, commonly known as the eastern milk snake or eastern milksnake, is a subspecies of the milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum ). The nonvenomous, colubrid snake is indigenous to eastern and central North America.
Additional common names for L. t. triangulum include the following: adder, blatschich schlange, chain snake, checkered adder, checkered snake, chequered adder, chequered snake, chicken snake, common milk snake, cow-sucker, highland adder, horn snake, house snake, king snake, leopard-spotted snake, milk sucker, pilot, red snake, sachem snake, sand-king, scarlet milk snake, spotted adder, and thunder-and-lightning snake.
The eastern milk snake averages 60 to 91 centimetres (24 to 36 in) in total length, although specimens as long as 132 centimetres (52 in) in total length have been measured. It has smooth and shiny scales. The dorsal color pattern consists of brownish dorsal saddles, which are edged with black. The dorsal saddles are sometimes reddish or reddish brown in southern areas of its range. The pattern on the top and sides of the snake has also been described as three (or possibly five) series of black-bordered brown (reddish brown sometimes) blotches along the length of the snake on a gray or tan ground. The blotches in the dorsal series are large, while the blotches in the two (or possibly four) lateral series are smaller. The belly pattern is black and white checks (often irregular).
The eastern milk snake ranges from Maine to Ontario in the north to Alabama and North Carolina in the south. It was once thought by herpetologists to intergrade with the scarlet kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides ) in a portion of its southern range, but this has been disproved.
The eastern milk snake is a species commonly found in rural areas where hibernation and feeding sites, such as buildings and mammal burrows, are abundant, and they also use a variety of open habitats and forest edges.
Like many species of milk snakes, the eastern milk snake is often bred in captivity for the pet trade. It is generally docile and rarely attempts to bite, though it may do so if feeling restrained.