Sinaloae milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum sinaloae)

Origin: northeast Costa Rica
Length: 130 to 160cm
Age: 15 years
The head is broad and slightly separated from the neck. Two natural variations are known, the well-known "tricolor" with the classic red-black-white-black band ring and the "bicolor" also called "mandarin" where the normally white band is orange to red in color. At the end of each scale is a small black dot. The melanin level increases as the snakes mature. Sometimes they are almost black with a faint pattern.

Care
Experience: intermediate to experienced hose keeper
Food: These snakes naturally have a very varied diet consisting of small mammals as well as a variety of lizards and snakes. Young animals also sometimes feed on small amphibians. In captivity, this species does extremely well on small mammals such as mice and young rats or mice
Adult feeding: every 5 days
Feeding young: Every 3 to 5 days
Water bowl: Yes
Water change: 3 times a week

Nutrition
There is the choice to present the prey alive or dead. It is recommended to offer dead food. This is more practical and prevents the food animal from injuring your snake. It is also advised to offer the food animal with feeding tongs and to feed your snake outside the enclosure. This ensures that your hand is not associated with food and prevents your snake from reaching for your hand while feeding. If you do go for live food, you must supervise the feeding. The prey animal can also injure the snake. Feed the rat snake separately, because when two snakes catch the same prey, they can injure each other and sometimes eat each other themselves. The ideal prey is about as wide as the widest part of the snake.

Water
The water bowl in the accommodation must be large enough so that the hose can lie in it in its entirety. and will help to maintain humidity levels in the tank, the ideal humidity range is between 50% and 70%.

Cleaning
A hygienic living environment is important to keep your snake healthy. To achieve this, the accommodation will have to be cleaned regularly. Cleaning once a week is enough. In order to prevent the build-up of bacteria, the entire accommodation must be cleaned and disinfected a few times a year.

Handling
to get the snake used to contact with people it is advisable to pick up and handle the animal from time to time, but how do you handle a snake, make sure you support the animal at the beginning of the body and halfway to the ends of the body. Never squeeze your hose while handling, as their vertebrae are fragile and can break easily. Also make sure your hands are washed and don't smell of food. Finally, do not handle your snake when it is molting and do not handle the animal after it has just eaten. The young snakes or snakes that have not been handled before can be defensive and can attack. The snake is not poisonous, but it is better to avoid bite marks. After several uses, the snake will get used to it on its own and become less defensive.

Housing
Minimum large stay for 1 couple: 100 x 50 x 50
Lying surface: 0.5 m2 and 1 raised platform per hose on which the snake can lie with its entire body.
Day temperature: 24-28C
Night temperature: 22-24C
Hours of light: 12 hours
Humidity: 40%-60%
Ground cover: Newspapers, bark, sand or beech chips

Design
These are true bottom dwellers and live naturally among fallen leaves and branches in the rainforest floor. The temperatures here are moderate and there is little difference between day and night temperatures, the humidity is relatively high. Keep this in mind when setting up an enclosure for these snakes. Offer a substrate for them to dig in, such as aspen bedding or coir-based soil, such as coir or peat. The average humidity should be around 60 to 70%. High humidity does not mean a wet surface.
In addition, ventilation is needed to keep the air fresh and it is recommended that the accommodation is kept out of the bright sun and as vibration-free as possible.

Behaviour
Hunting method: Strangler snake.
Lifestyle: twilight and night active

Character
They like to hide in the forest floor cover between fallen branches, leaves and stems. Wild-caught snakes can be very shy and will hide if disturbed. They will usually try to get away, but may bite if fixed or not held properly. Today, virtually all Honduran milk snakes kept come from many generations of descendants of animals kept in captivity and this has resulted in active, curious and calm snakes. This species is most active during twilight and evening.
Points of attention
the sinaloae can be defensive, especially in the enclosure. Keep this in mind when handling your hose to avoid unnecessary injuries. Regular handling will eventually make the snake more tame and calm.

Cost and Purchase
Legislation: No documentation is required to keep a sinaloae milk snake.
One-off costs: This includes the costs for accommodation, lighting, heating, water bowl and decoration. This can together cost a few hundred euros to a few thousand euros. The final amount depends on the quality and size of the products.
Fixed costs: Fixed costs include the costs for the feed, which is several tens of euros per year.
Unexpected costs: Costs have been incurred when your hose happens to get sick or your equipment breaks down.