Milk snake females choose nest sites that are warm and humid. Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male) 3 to 4 years.Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female) 3 to 4 years.Breeding season Breeding occurs in spring and early summer, from April through June.How often does reproduction occur? Milk snakes breed once yearly.Young milk snakes become fully grown in 3 to 4 years. Their colors become more dull as they age. Upon hatching they are brightly colored, with oranges, reds, purples, and yellows. They hatch after 28 to 39 days and emerge as young milk snakes that are 14 to 28 cm long. Milk snakes lay from 2 to 17 (usually about 10) elliptical eggs in rotting logs or moist, warm leaf litter. Milk snakes mate while in their hibernation spots before they emerge in the spring. Range elevation sea level to 2600 m to 8530.18 ft.These animals are found in the following types of habitat.Milk snakes are not rare but are secretive, so are rarely seen. They are usually found near forest edges, but can also be found in open woodlands, prairies and grasslands, near streams and rivers, on rocky hillsides, and in suburban areas and farmlands. Milk snakes can thrive in a variety of habitats. Milk snakes are found throughout the eastern United States, into southern Canada, and south into Mexico and Central America. Milk snakes have 19 to 23 rows of smooth scales and a single anal plate. The darker areas are always outlined in black. The ligher areas can be orange, yellow, or white.

The color of those darker blotches can be very light to very dark, from tan to rust colored to dark brown. All milk snakes have a blotchy or striped appearance, with darker blotches separated by lighter stripes. They are very colorful snakes and their colors vary throughout their range. In the United States lengths are usually 60 to 130 cm.

Milk snakes can be from 35 to 175 cm long, with the longest snakes being found in Mexico and Central America.

Andean milksnake