Co-habitating lampropeltis (housing together king snakes or milk snakes) has been regarded as taboo with most references strongly advising against it. You can easily see why as both king and milk snakes typically feed on various reptiles, birds, and rodents in the wild. For this reason most "experts" advise against even housing together specimens of the same species. While this is good "play it safe" advice it doesn't offer any suggestions on the alternative. I decided to share my experience because of the success and enjoyment I have had keeping and breeding lampropeltis in this manner. Keep in mind there is risk involved but this can be eliminated or greatly reduced when a few simple husbandry practices are followed.

It's not my intent to challenge the experts, advise, or suggest that co-habitating is a better way of keeping and breeding king & milk snakes, it's simply my experience doing it. Also, I want to be clear that I am referring to housing kings with kings and milks with milks, in both cases only of the same sub-species. In the 10 plus years of housing lampropeltis in this manner I have had only one negative incident. This was my fault as I housed a wild caught king with a much smaller captive produced one, resulting in the larger one eating the smaller one. They were the same sub-species (L.g.holbrooki) but the much larger male was wild caught. I have never had a captive produced adult king or milk snake eat or constrict and kill another cage mate of the same species. This does not mean it can't happen, I have heard of instances where is has.  

The species/sub-species I have successfully housed together include the following milk snakes: Mexican (L.t.annulata), New Mexican (L.t.celanops), Sinaloan (L.t.sinaloae), Nelsons (L.t.nelsoni) Honduran (L.t.hondurensis), Jalisco (L.t.arcifera), and Pueblan (L.t.campbelli). King snakes include: California (L.g.californiae), Florida (L.g.floridana), Gray-Banded (L.alterna), Nuevo Leon (L.m.thayeri), Durango mt (L.m.greeri), Baja mt (L.z.algama), Tarahumara mt (L.p.knoblochi), San Diego mt (L.z.pulchra), Arizona mt (L.p.woodini & L.p.pyromelana) Prairie (L.calligaster), Speckled (L.g.holbrooki), and Mexican black (L.g.nigrita).

To keep it simple let's start with the obtaining of one pair of captive produced hatchling king or milk snakes of the same sub-species. (I have not housed males together). Each snake is set up individually in it's own separate cage and fed exclusively on a diet of rodents. The exception being hatchlings requiring scented mice or lizards to initially get them started. This is very important as it establishes their feeding habits. They are housed & fed in this manner every 4-7 days until reaching breeding size, normally 18-30 months. When it is determined they are large enough to breed they are cycled (cooled) for 2-3 months at 55-60 degree F., either separately or together. I have done it both ways with equally positive results.

At the end of this cycling period they can be safely housed together if a few precautions are taken. I use double compartment type cages with an upper compartment and a sub-floor drawer connected via an 1 1/2" pvc pipe. This pipe can be capped off allowing for ease of segregation when feeding or cleaning. The snakes must be separated when feeding, this is when a negative incident is most likely to occur. After a few hours I check to ensure all food items have been eaten then simply remove the cap once again allowing the snakes access to each other. If using a single compartment type cage you could remove one of the snakes to a separate feeding area then re-introduce them a few hours after feeding. Make sure all food items have been eaten or removed before re-introduction. Adult females are fed every 4-7 days, adult males every 10-14.

Housing together milk or king snakes for the purpose of breeding has it's challenges just as keeping them separate does. When a female ovulates she produces pheromones which attract males. When housed together the pair or trio become attuned to each other and normally won't breed simply because they are housed together. This can take the guess work out of determining if and when your female is ready. When you begin to witness breeding activity you could also rotate in additional males. On the negative side it's difficult to accurately monitor and record all breeding activity. This is especially important if you intend on using a particular male for multiple females. All males are different with varying degrees of fertility and the ability to successfully produce viable sperm. This is effected by several factors including genetics, time of year, and how the snakes were cycled.

One of the methods I use to help determine a males fertility is to express a small amount of fluid from the females cloaca after copulation (or a suspected breeding if not witnessed) and view it under a microscope for viable sperm. I do this by gently palpating aprox 1'2" above the females cloaca towards her tail attempting to excrete just a small drop of clear fluid. It's very important not to disturb the female to much during this procedure causing her to defecate. This requires lot's of practice, a student microscope, and slides, but is worth learning. If using a fine sand type substrate (I've used #12-20 silica sand for years with good results) you can easily spot residual sperm left after a copulation (without having to witness it) and then proceed to record the breeding and/or check the female for viable sperm.

When I have recorded three successful breedings for a particular female, that pair is then separated if the male is being used to service additional females. If not I leave them together until after the female sheds. If your unsure the female is gravid (she may just be producing follicles) leave her with the male for 3-4 days after she sheds then separate, supplying her a means to deposit her eggs. If she hasn't laid eggs within 10-14 days put her back with the male. I typically place females in a lidded plastic shoebox 1/2 filled with moist sphagnum moss in a rack maintained at 80-82 degrees, the same rack used to incubate eggs. You could also remove the male and supply an egg laying container for the female, be sure and remove the water dish during this period. Once eggs are deposited she is fed immediately and re-introduced to the male.  This process can be continued until at some point the female stops developing follicles. This can be different for each female and each sub-species. Some will produce as many as three clutches of eggs per season while others will only produce one. Some will breed early in the season, some will breed later. Many will surprise you and breed and produce when you don't expect it so pay close attention and be prepared.

To recap, the main husbandry practices are: #1: start with captive produced hatchlings of the same sub-species. #2, house and feed them separately until they reach breeding size. #3, feed them rodents only. #4, once housed together as adults always separate during feeding and a few hours after. #5, don't let them go without food for extended periods of time. (2 weeks) When following these husbandry practices I have had many years of successfully housing and breeding the species and sub-species mentioned above. There are always exceptions to the rule and each individual needs to make their own decision based on what they are comfortable doing. I hope this helps anyone who may be interested in co-habitating lampropeltis but didn't think it could be done.    

Tad

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