The Honduran Milk Snake is one of the larger species of Milk Snake. They can reach an adult length of around 5 feet.
Due to their docile nature, easy care requirements and stunning appearance, this snake is one of the most commonly kept Milk Snakes in captivity.
Honduran Milk Snake Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The Honduran Milk Snake belongs to the Colubridae or Colubrid family of snakes. This is the largest family of Snakes in the world consisting of many popular species such as Corn Snakes and Pine Snakes.
With around 250 different genera of Colubrids, these snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica which also makes them the most widely distributed family of snake in the world.
The vast majority of Colubrid snakes are non-venomous, or at least contain a venom that isn’t considered to be medically significant to humans.
However, there are a number of species of Colubrid snakes that contain venom capable of killing humans. This includes species from the Boiga and Rhabdophis genera as well as other snakes such as the Boomslang.
Genus
The Honduran Milk Snake belongs to the Lampropeltis genus. This genus contains the New World Kingsnakes and Milk Snakes.
The scientific name ‘Lampropeltis’ comes from the Greek words ‘lampro’ and ‘pelte’ which loosely translates to ‘shiny shield’. This is a reference to these snake’s smooth, enamel-like dorsal scales.
Species
The Honduran Milk Snake is a sub-species of Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum). There are currently 24 recognised sub-species of Milk Snake.
Many experts argue that many of the Milk Snake sub-species should be reclassified to full species status. If this happens, the Milk Snake ‘species’ might get upgraded to genera level with the sub-species reclassified as full species.
The scientific name for the Honduran Milk Snake is Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis.
The name hondurensis is simply just a Latinization of the main country where these snakes can be found, Honduras.
Some of the other common species of Milk Snake include the Eastern Milk Snake, Black Milk Snake, Mexican Milk Snake, Nelson’s Milk Snake and Pueblan Milk Snake.
Honduran Milk Snake Description
The Honduran Milk Snake is a large Milk Snake that can grow to around 5 feet in length.
They have a typical ‘Milk Snake’ appearance with their red base color and a series of black and yellow bands that run the length of their body.
The coloration and patterning is designed to Mimic the Coral Snake. This is used as a defensive mechanism to scare off a potential threat.
The yellow bands never touch the red base color as they are encased in a pair of black bands.
Coral Snakes are different as their black bands are encased in a pair of yellow bands, meaning the red and black never touch.
This leads to a popular saying ‘Red on Black, Friend of Jack. ‘Red on Yellow, kill a fellow’. This is used to distinguish between Milk Snakes and the venomous Coral Snake.
There is a wide amount of color and pattern variation in Honduran Milk Snakes. Many of these have been ‘discovered’ through selectively breeding these animals.
Some of the most popular variations include the albino and the tangerine. The tangerine is basically a snake that has a deep orange coloration where the yellow usually is.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Honduran Milk Snake is native to parts of Central America in countries such as Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
These snakes like to live among the debris on the floor of the tropical rainforests of the region.
This species occupies some of the same geographical range as species such as the Brown Basilisk, the Emerald Swift Lizard and the Green Vine Snake.
Honduran Milk Snake Behaviour
The Honduran Milk Snake will change their ‘active hours’ with the seasons in order to avoid the intense heat of the summer days.
During the warmest months of summer, these snakes will adopt more of a nocturnal lifestyle. They will mainly be active at night and during the hours of dusk and dawn.
When the days aren’t as hot during spring and autumn, they will be more active during the day, warming their body temperature and searching for food.
It is too cold for these snakes during the winter months so they go into hibernation. This involves reducing their metabolic rate and activity level and spending most of their time in a warm burrow.