A barn off in the distance looked like it would be good snake habitat. Snakes like clearings in the woods, where they can bask in the sun. They also like hiding under man-made objects like metal or wood that may be lying in the ground.
It turned out that the spot had a few Eastern Milk Snakes. Milk snakes get their name because “back in the day” they would often be seen hanging around barns. When farmers had low milk production from their cows, they accused the snakes of drinking milk right from the cows’ udders!
This of course is silly, but the name stuck. Snakes like barns because one of their favorite foods, rodents, can also be found in and around them.
There are 25 subspecies of milk snakes, and the eastern is one of only a few which does not have red, yellow and black bands resembling a Coral Snake. These snakes have a light colored v-shaped or y-shaped patch on their neck and a checkered belly.
Although adults usually have brown blotches on a tan background; young Eastern Milks have maroon blotches on a gray background – over time the colors change.
The Eastern Milk Snake is one of our only constricting snakes in Northeast Ohio. In addition to eating rodents, it also eats other snakes.
This snake can be encountered throughout Ohio in a variety of habitats, including woods, meadows, and river bottoms and even within cities, where they occasionally enter buildings in search of mice.
