Do milk snakes drink milk from cows?

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asked Sep 22, 2022 in Snakes by Timweaver (2,910 points)
Do milk snakes drink milk from cows?

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answered Sep 22, 2022 by Satanic (13,130 points)
Milk snakes do not drink milk from cows.

Although they are called milk snakes the milk snake does not drink any milk from cows although it was thought by farmers that milk snakes would suck the milk from their cows as the cows had low milk yields.

But it's just a myth as cows are cold blooded reptiles and they need water to survive but snakes cannot digest milk or dairy products.

The reason it's called a milk snake is because of the belief that the milk snake is thought to suck milk from cows at night.

Milk snakes are pretty friendly snakes and are not aggressive unless they need to be.

If the milk snake sees you as a threat or they are provoked then they will bite you and be aggressive but most often the milk snake will leave humans alone.

Milk snakes are found in areas such as Central America, southern Canada, south into Mexico and throughout the eastern United States.

Milk snakes do stink when they emit and excrete a musky scent from their anal glands which is smelly but not harmful.

A milk snake lives around 15 years in the wild and when kept as a pet or in captivity the milk snake can live as long as 20 years.

Lampropeltis triangulum, commonly known as the milk snake or milksnake, is a species of kingsnake; 24 subspecies are currently recognized.

Lampropeltis elapsoides, the scarlet kingsnake, was formerly classified as a 25th subspecies, but is now recognized as a distinct species.

Milk snakes are attracted to things such as food, water, moisture, warmth, mice, leaf piles, rocks, brush, wood piles, pet food, bird baths, dense shrubbery, compost, weeds, tall grass and plants.

Snakes can see but snakes cannot see very well.

Snakes have eyesight and it's how they can see you and other things around them but the eyesight the snakes have is not very good.

Stomping really hard can scare snakes away or even making loud noises and chasing them away can get rid of them.

Snakes are actually more scared of us humans than us humans are of them.

Snakes will leave a house on it's own within time.

However if the snake is not leaving you really should try to find it and kill it or get it removed from your house.

If you find a snake in your garage or in a room leading to the outside, shut the inside doors and open the door leading outside so the snake can slither out.

The snake should leave fairly quickly.

Snakes don't have an odor so you cannot really smell a snake in the house.

Although snakes can leave droppings and you might be able to smell snake poop but not the snakes themselves.

Killing a snake does not attract other snakes.

Snakes are not social animals so they will not be attracted by another snake being killed.

One snake in a house does not always mean more snakes are around.

Snakes are not social animals and don't usually travel or hang around in packs or more than one but if you have one snake it's likely just that one snake.

But just be on the lookout for any other snakes that could possibly come around later.

Snake droppings are dark brown and look somewhat similar to rat droppings or even rabbit droppings.

Fresh snake poop is usually dark brown, but it turns chalky as it dries out.

Because they defecate relatively infrequently, their droppings are large and thick, and often mushy and slimy.

The best way to know if a snake or snakes are around are to listen for slithers and sounds the snake may make.

Also look for the snake itself in places they could be hiding.

Snake droppings are also another way to see if snakes are around or have been around.

Snakes have a habit of moving along walls and baseboards to avoid detection.

The first place to look is behind the enclosure, all over the flooring, and inside any bookshelves or cupboards in the room, looking behind shelves and knickknacks and on top of books.

They are likely to be under and behind hiding spaces.

The time of day that snakes are most active is morning.

Snakes are most active in the morning hours of the day.

Snakes can come out any time of the year although the time of year that snakes are most active is during late summer and early fall.

Snakes cannot thrive when temperatures drop below 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

With the weather still ideal and an abundance of rain from late summer storms and hurricanes, fall is prime time for snakes to be active.

Snakes hear through an organ known as an ear but the snakes ears are different from humans ears and other animals ears.

Snakes lack and outer ear and a middle ear but the snakes have one middle ear bone that connects the inner ear to the jaw.

This enables snakes to hear vibrations, such as a predator creeping closer on the forest floor.

Snakes are afraid of cats and will avoid cats because cats actively do sometimes hunt and kill snakes.

Cats are predators, and they will attack other animals around the garden, including snakes.

Snakes have many natural enemies which include honey badgers, mongooses, hedgehogs, bobcats, secretary birds as well as other types of snakes.

Humans are also an enemy of snakes as a lot of humans are fearful of snakes and will kill them and some people even eat snake meat.

The smells that snakes hate are lime, garlic, onions, cloves, cinnamon.

What snakes fear the most are humans, animals such as large birds, wild bores, wild mongooses, coyotes, foxes and raccoons.

Snakes also fear and hate smells such as lime, garlic, onions, cloves, cinnamon and smoke.

Most snakes do avoid humans as snakes are usually more fearful of humans than most people think.

However a snake can and will chase you sometimes if they see you as a threat can and do bite when they feel you as a threat and you're too close to them.

Animals that are friends with snakes include elephants, bats and flamingos.

The kind of snakes that will actively chase you as a human are the Central American bushmaster (Lachesis muta muta).

An enormous and lethally venomous serpent, the bushmaster is well-known for this behavior.

Snakes usually think of humans as scary and intimidating so snakes will most often avoid them.

That is unless the snake is a pet and has been around the human then they can become friendly towards the human.

Snakes will run away from humans because snakes are fearful of humans and will want to get away from them.

Humans are bigger than snakes and so snakes will want to avoid humans if at all possible.

If a snake begins chasing you remain calm and either run away or walk away as fast as you can.

If you have something such as a shovel you can try chopping the snake up or if you have a gun you can shoot the snake.

Most often though a snake won't chase you and leave you alone.

Try not to panic. Staying calm can help you make the right decisions and help you to stay safe.

Don't make any sudden movements in the direction of the snake.

Just remain calm, and try not to startle the animal.

Remember that the snake was not out looking for you.

Snakes are usually friendly towards humans once they get used to the human.

Not all snakes will harm you and most snakes will leave you alone but you still must be cautious around snakes that you don't know.

Snakes can be friendly with humans if they are properly cared for and are acclimatized to being handled by human beings.

Some snakes, such as Corn snakes, are non-venomous and very harmless if handled properly.

They are regarded as the friendliest of all the snakes.

Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes.

Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales.

Snakes are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, suborder Serpentes.

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