What are the differences between milk corn and rat snakes

Which are the best to keep as a docile pet

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I've kept various kinds of all three so I'll offer my 2 cents:

Milk snakes are generally docile & their mouth is comparatively small, so biting isn't their best defense anyway. They're available in bright attractive colors, but if
you want a pet to handle & interact with, I'd keep looking. Most milk snakes are nervous burrowing types, so they tend to be very restless about handling & have
less personality IMO.

Corn snakes are excellent easy pets that stay a modest size, come in lots of colors too are not inclined to bite. If you get a hatchling, their teeth are too small to
feel (unless you're literally under 5 years old) & by the time they grow big enough for you to feel their teeth (in self defense) they'll be tame anyway. High marks! And Great Plains rat snakes are basically corn snakes in duller colors...great pets too.

Rat snakes: it all depends on which ones, many of the ones I'm familiar with make great pets, but a few kinds (like Korean rat snakes) "not so much". I've bred &
kept many of the 'obsoleta' group (black including amelanistic, grey, Everglades & I currently have 2.2 Florida yellow/gulf hammocks). These are all somewhat
more challenging than corn snakes & they get quite a bit bigger (some are 6-7' as adults); as hatchlings you'll feel their teeth & they take more time & patience to
calm down than a corn snake but that's not saying it's terribly difficult, just that they're a step up. On the other hand, if you truly want a docile rat snake, you cannot
do better than either a Baird's rat snake (get up to 6') or a Trans Pecos (adults are about 4'). Russian rat snakes have the reputation of being great pets too, but I
can't speak from personal experience on those. And if you're looking for more exotic rat snakes (like from Asia), do your homework carefully.

So corn snakes might be the best choice
And btw, I appreciate your 2 cents!

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Corn snakes are actually a species of rat snake!

There's also a huge variation in rat snake species. Some species are very docile (like corn snakes), while some are known to be defensive. Some stay pretty small while some grow 7-8 feet in length. So you could research into which species you like first. Corn snakes are definitely one of the most docile out of all the rat snakes though, which is why they're so common to have.

I love my 2 corn snakes, but I do believe I "dodged a bullet" with my milk snake. It seems to me that the honduran milk snakes in particular are less.. stereotypical of milk snakes, from talking to others who have them, but that'sall anecdotal evidence. Mine has always been calm and reasonable to work with, but I feel like it may be an exception. He has never musked, struck, rattled his tail, bit, or even put much effort into fleeing from me, even as a 20 gram little worm.

42" corn snake (abbott's okeetee)
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...6a2042b04d.jpg

36" honduran milk snake (albino)
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f4dfb6d241.jpg

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Well, corn snakes are widely available at great prices too, that doesn't hurt anything. ;) And fyi, they do great in glass tanks with screen tops, ie. good ventilation.
They like but don't usually need a humid hide, and if you give them branches in the cage, they'll use them & you'll see more of them, just like with most rat snakes.

Corn & the other rat snakes I mentioned do well at room temperatures (70-80*) that we're comfortable at, also...that makes it easy. If your house is 70*, they only
need a UTH in one corner of the cage for when they want to use it to digest. Or, you can offer a basking spot with overhead heat, or both, but don't overdo the
heat, especially for corns. Mine all prefer to spend most of their time in the cooler parts of their tanks. My large Florida rat snakes, on the other hand, have both
UTH and regularly bask in their branches under a warming light. What I like most about rat snakes is that they aren't hiding much, & feeding is a breeze on f/t.
(you can put away the blow-dryer, lol)

I saw a picture of a snowflake corn snake I believe it was and it was so beautiful

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I would really love to have a leucistic ball python or a nice-looking piedbald but they tend to be a little pricey so I think I might just go along the lines of getting a white corn snake
The ball python I have now has no feeding issues at all so by getting a corn snake that will make two snakes I don't have to worry about eating

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Or maybe a blizzard corn snake
I also like the idea of having a snake that will get up on branches

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How difficult are the blizzard corn snakes to find it Expos and are they more pricey than other morphs

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I haven't priced them lately but you can search out prices online ahead of time. Corns are easy to breed, so I doubt that you'll go broke buying one.
Keep in mind that corns change color as they grow from hatchlings, so you want a breeder you can trust, & to see the "parents".

I'd say corn if you want something to handle easily and not worry about it being big. But if you want something a bit bigger and more lively a nice Honduran Milk would be good. My guy in the picture is 25 years old and is super chill. Just moves around till he gets comfy then he just chills clinging around an arm or my waist like a belt haha.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3d9a2d3a70.jpg

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Toasted Hippo, that's a wonderful Honduran Milk snake you've got (I've not kept any Hondurans in the past, btw); I assume he's mellower now though because
he's, well, 25? I can remember the hatchling milk snakes I had (Pueblan & Sinaloan), & unless you have great manual dexterity & good reflexes, they're super
quick & wiggly...VERY hard to hang onto. Things you never handle near a sink, for example... But they are beautiful & cool too, especially after they grow some.

That's funny about him going around your waist like a belt...some of my rat snakes that are long enough do that as well, and one of the Trans Pecos I used to
have actually remembered on repeated occasions to thread herself thru the belt loops on my jeans, like a rock-climber....silly sneks. :D

And for the OP, corn snakes can actually get bigger than 4'...my oldest now is 20 years old & Pretzell is about 5' (he's an Okeetee corn). So in terms of size, the
smallest & most docile "rat snakes" that I'm familiar with that meet your criteria are corn & Trans Pecos rat snakes. Corns are far more plentiful & probably less $
-depending on the variety you choose. Likewise, Trans Pecos are being bred for fancier colors that cost more, but to my eyes, the normal wild-type original ones
are still the best (and the only ones I can vouch for). Keep in mind that to get these fancier colors, some inbreeding is done, & that does not always result in the
strongest offspring that feed easily. It's not about price at all to me, I prefer captive-bred snakes that are closer to what "nature" does.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Toasted Hippo, that's a wonderful Honduran Milk snake you've got (I've not kept any Hondurans in the past, btw); I assume he's mellower now though because
he's, well, 25?

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My honduran is pretty calm, even as a baby. Certainly could just be luck, but he has had none of the flightiness that my 2 corns displayed as babies and is a good reliable eater too.

Even at around 25 grams when I got him, he would grab something and sit on my hand like this.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dfc642fd9a.jpg

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"Flighty", that's the word I was looking for...I suspect that's because milk snakes (in general) are ground-dwellers that dash into holes to survive, whereas
young corn & rat snakes are climbers by nature, and their ventral muscles have developed more to do that, so holding onto our hand comes more naturally.
But they're ALL worth knowing, for sure...and the OP should get one of each...:D How's that for "enabling"? hahaha!

As I said before, I've never known a Honduran milk snake, & maybe because they're one of the larger kinds, they're not as flighty? He's a pretty fellow. :sweeet:

To the OP: this probably won't be the last snake you get, so whatever you don't choose this time, there's always next time. :snake:

easy, it's all in their diet:
Milk's - only drink milk
Corn's - only eat corn
Rat's - only eat rats

:P


but for real, their similar in their activity. the Milk's thrash more and musk when u first get them. they are all very easy to care for and their poops are really gross tho.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

How difficult are the blizzard corn snakes to find it Expos and are they more pricey than other morphs

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i see them often at my local shows. one Corn was sold to me as an Avalanche. he was a really pink baby that would turn out all white as it matured. turns out he also had yellow, so he's actually a Blizzard. the breeder missed the mark on his ID. anyways here's a il bit of Tofu: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...?254712-Tofu-P