Please Help Me Identify This Snake

[tashy]

Hello! My friend had a snake come into her room several times and when she took it to the pet store they told her it was a corn snake. I've been keeping it as a pet for about 3 weeks and it seems very uncomfortable with people/being in a cage and will not eat. One of my friends is sure that it's a milk snake, in which case it is a native snake to my area and I can release it. If you can tell the difference please let me know asap!!!!

Also, if it is a cornsnake, would it be safe to release it? Either way the snake's been living in the wild and does NOT seem happy as a pet, but the cornsnake isn't native to this part of the US and I wouldn't want to release it if it was unsafe.

[EL Ziggy]

It looks like a corn snake to me.

[Scubadiver59]

Where do you live?

I would say that it has gone wild and will do okay outside on its own. It will burrow when the time comes.

If you don't let it go, put it in a larger enclosure (20gal), give it some hides on both ends of the cage, get some heat to the enclosure (~85F/UTH or CHE) at one end, put in some substrate so it can burrow, give it some water, etc. That cage is very barren and the snake is probably stressed out w/o the above. It won't eat until it calms down.

Or put in ad in Craigslist and see if anyone with some experience with snakes would like to take it in

[Andy_G]

100% an eastern milk snake.

[Herpin' Man]

Your friend is correct- it's an Eastern milk snake. Release it in appropriate habitat nearest where it was found- wild milk snakes are very challenging captives.
They live in forested areas, usually in the vicinity of rocky hillsides.

[EL Ziggy]

I stand corrected. I'm glad there are smarter folks than me here. :)

[jay's reptiles]

milk snake!

[daisymaisy]

If they want a pet, there are much, much better choices available in the pet store that will do well. I would let the wild snake go and do it's snakey thing out in the wild. :)

[REM955]

If they want a pet, there are much, much better choices available in the pet store that will do well. I would let the wild snake go and do it's snakey thing out in the wild. :)

Not unless you just brought the animal in from the wild...

[daisymaisy]

I thought it was a wild snake? Maybe I misread the OP. No, I wouldn't let a CB snake go, or even a long term captive that could have been exposed to other snakes' germs.