The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 28, Number 5; May, 2001

Andean Milksnakes: A Case For Adaptability

by Vic Herrick, NCHS Member

Reprinted from Herping Headliners, the newsletter of the Northern California Herpetological Society, March 2001.

Lampropeltis triangulum andesiana, the Columbian or Andean milksnake is one of the largest and hardiest of the triangulum complex. Imagine a tri-colored snake between 60 and 70" and thicker than the largest California common king and you will have an idea how impressive these animals are.

Found in the Andes Mountains of North West Columbia, it ranges from 220-2700 meters (Markel, 1990), and it inhabits a relatively cool climate despite the near Equatorial location. L.t. andesiana may be distinguished from the closely related and sympatric Equadorean milksnake (L.t. micropholis) by having 19 scale rows and a higher red ring count. L.t. andesiana inhabits montaine area, whereas L.t. micropholis favors the lowlands with some intergradation. Reputed to grow very large, approaching 6 foot, 4-5' is more typical of the specimens I have seen.

This animal is relatively new to herpetoculture, with some of the first captive breedings occurring at the Dallas Zoo in 1987 (Hammack, 1989). Steve Hammack made specimens available to the private sector in 1991 and was a real pioneer working with this species. The L.t. andesiana in my care have been remarkably hardy, trouble free and prolific breeders. Unlike some of the fussy feeders this Genus is known for, andesiana hatchlings are large and vigorous, taking pinky and fuzzy mice shortly after the post hatching shed, and quickly graduating to larger rodents as they grow. My breeders take weaned rats and retired breeder mice. Prolific breeders, these snakes easily produce 2-3 clutches a year. One female produced 7 eggs in March, 7 in July, 9 in Sept. and 9 more in Jan. I allow the adults to cool to room temperature, 52-60°F for about 2 months each winter, providing a basking spot with heat tape. This cool down ends in mid-February, with vigorous breeding upon warming them. This montane species is well adapted to cool temperatures, feeding and digesting food in the low 70's. Higher temperatures may lead to decreased sperm motility (Hammack), so keep these animals a bit cooler than most colubrids if breeding is a goal: i.e. Mid-70's.

I have 2 different "morphs", one pair obtained from a breeder in Redding. CA with narrow white bands and wide dark burgundy bands. A few of these hatchlings have become very dark with age. The others were obtained from W. Lamar, and they have more triads, wider white bands and are much lighter red-orange. Hammack and others have selectively bred a tangerine-orange phase, and some of my hatchlings have indeed been light orange with some orange tinge to the otherwise white bands. Like many other tri-colors, patterns are variable and difficult to predict prior to hatching.

Hatchlings seem to be prettier each generation, as others have reported with Sonoran Mountain Kingsnakes.

On 8-25-95 a year old andesiana escaped from my coast view home in foggy, cool, forested Fort Bragg, CA. After weeks of searching, I gave up hope of recovering the valuable female specimen. On 1-10-98 some neighbors reported seeing a large "coral type snake" in an outbuilding, about 400 yards away from my home, and did I know anything about it? Could it be my long missing female? Should I admit I had an escape? Having moved, I mailed some photos of siblings to some neighbors in hopes someone would catch it if they saw it again. To my amazement, on 3-21-98, I was called by a former neighbor, who had indeed recaptured my long lost Andean Milksnake. He found it basking in a shaft of sunshine on the floor of a firewood shed, no doubt rodent infested. The snake had grown to 44", was thinner than its siblings, but otherwise looked healthy. Life on the outside had been challenging, and several scars-missing scales were evident, possibly from rodent bites, and a stubbed but well healed tail.

Although deeply embarrassed at having an escape, I thought this tale demonstrated how well this snake can adapt, feeding on the native fauna and surviving in the cool coastal climate. These snakes are easy keepers, large but not too large, hardy and actually thriving at common room temperatures. Therefore, they are ideal captives, and are very hardy tri-colors. I usually have specimens available, and can breed them on demand. Inquiries are invited. If you are new to the hobby and wary of tri-colors, these are among the easiest to keep.