Can someone confirm/correct this ID?

[Bandit]

Hey everyone, so a guy came into work today and said he found this snake. I live in Louisiana, and this definitely isn't our native species of milk snake. I'm thinking it's a Honduran that escaped from someone. Let me know what yall think. Also, he's a bit more orange than the picture shows. This photo was taken on my phone so the quality isn't the greatest.

[FWK]

I'm going to agree with you, it looks very much like a generic Honduran Milk Snake. That's my short answer.

Getting to that answer took me some time, which is why it took me so long to post. Walking into a pet store and buying a snake labeled as a Honduran Milk Snake is equivalent to buying a generic pet store Red Tailed Boa. It is most likely not a pure Honduran Milk, it is probably a mix of subspecies. Essentially a mutt. Without papers from the breeder it's not possible to know what it really is. To further complicate the situation, Milks are in a state of taxonomic flux. A recent paper reshuffled Milks from one species with a whopping 26 subspecies to seven species with no subspecies. The paper is incomplete, many of its shortcomings are outlined within the paper itself, and more research is needed but it is considered to be mostly correct, albeit with gaps that need to be filled. One such gap that is frustrating to a hobbyist such as myself is that there are no new suggested common names to go along with the new scientific names. The old Honduran Milk Snake subspecies (Lampropeltis triangulum hondurensis) is gone and now grouped with four other former subspecies under Lampropeltis abnorma. It is possible the snake you posted is a pure L. abnorma. However, another former subspecies known as the Ecuadorian Milksnake (L. t. micropholis) is also visually very similar to the snake you posted. Ecuadorian Milksnakes are now grouped with two other former subspecies under L. micropholis. I figure it is possible what you have there could be a L. micropholis, a L. abnorma, or a mix. Whatever the case may be, thanks for giving me something to study up on today.

As a side note, the ranges of many Milks have also been redefined, including the Milks in your neck of the woods. The former subspecies known as the Louisiana Milksnake (L. t. amaura) has been split by the Mississippi River, west of the river they are now grouped with five other former subspicies under L. gentilis. And this is really interesting, Louisiana Milks east of the river are now, get this, Lampropeltis elapsoides! L. elapsoides are Scarlet Kingsnakes.

There is a lot more work to be done on this group of critters and all of this is subject to change at any time. Here is a link to the paper I mentioned if you are interested.

Thanks again for posting the little guy, and sorry it took me so long to post. Are you planning on keeping it or finding a new home for it?

[D Grade]

Definitely looks like a Honduran, the bands can vary from straight white to cream to yellow and even orange (Tangerine phase). Some species are native in the mid west and southeast but not Hondurans. Hondurans should definitely be able to survive in LA since conditions are similar to their native habitat.

[bigsnakegirl785]

What about a juvenile black milk? They look kinda similar and the scales have a blackish tinge to them. I'm not good at identifying milks though so I'm not sure what to look at to distinguish them.

[D Grade]

Could very well be a young Black Milk as well.

[Bandit]

Thanks for the responses guys. I work at a nature center so we are going to keep him there. I will try to get a clearer picture to really capture his colors. I'm not sure why it didn't show the high oranges he has, especially on his head. But I guess if it does turn out to be a Black Milk we will see in time.

And thanks FWK, I appreciate the info. I just recently learned that we are having some new protocol with the King snakes in the area as well as far as splitting the species by the river.