Start with the subspecies page
The first record to hand over for a milk snake is the one naming exactly which milk snake she is. Milk snake subspecies range from small, slender forms to large, heavy-bodied ones, with different adult sizes, feeding habits, and temperaments, and the new vet's judgement of her weight and growth depends on knowing hers. Write down her subspecies, her breeder or seller, her age as sold, and her sex if known, and attach a clear photograph of her banding — milk snake patterns are distinctive, and a photo in the file supports identification for the rest of her life.
If her subspecies was sold to you under a general label, say so in the record rather than guessing. An honest "sold as a milk snake, subspecies unconfirmed, purchased at this size on this date" is more useful to a vet than a confident wrong name, and the photograph lets the clinic form its own view.
Feeding and shed logs
Bring her feeding log: prey size and type, feeding interval, last accepted meal, and every refusal or regurgitation with dates. Milk snakes are generally willing feeders, so a clean log establishes her normal clearly — and if the visit was prompted by refused meals, the log shows exactly when the pattern changed and what else changed with it, such as a move, a new enclosure, or the approach of a shed.
Hand over the shed log alongside it. Dates of each shed, whether it came away in one piece, and any retained skin — milk snakes in drier indoor air sometimes keep a fragment on the tail tip — give the vet her skin history at a glance. Note her humidity arrangement and whether she uses a humid hide, because the shed record and the setup explain each other.
Growth records and previous veterinary history
Add her weight and length records, dated. Set against her subspecies, a growth series shows whether she is tracking as expected, slowing with maturity, or losing condition — the question most first visits quietly need to answer. A snake weighed only at appointments years apart gives the vet two points; a snake weighed at home through the year gives a curve.
Bring summaries from her previous vet if she has seen one: examinations, parasite check results, and any treatment for respiratory signs, mouth issues, or problem sheds, plus anything left unresolved. If she has never been examined, write that down too; a declared blank is better than a silent gap the new clinic wastes time chasing.
Temperament notes and the enclosure description
Finish the handover with two short written pieces. The first describes her temperament from experience: many milk snakes are quick and flighty as youngsters and settle with age and handling, while some stay shy; a vet told yours is calm in the hand but bolts when the lid opens will plan the examination accordingly, and notes on any musking or biting belong here too.
The second describes her enclosure: size, warm-end and cool-end temperatures as you measure them, substrate, hides at both ends, water provision, and any recent changes. Health questions in a milk snake so often trace back to temperatures that accurate setup notes may answer the vet's first three questions before she is lifted out.
Collecting her subspecies page, feeding and shed logs, growth record and vet history through KinsLe's Pet Passport gives the new clinic everything needed to judge your milk snake as the specific animal she is.