Reptile & Amphibian Forums

we've been getting alot of rain lately and i guess it's really bringing the snakes out. i caught these 2 last week in Bedford County, Virginia where i live. they were within 20 feet of each other. i think they're male and female. maybe i can breed them. both are close to 2 feet long.

Really nice pair! Its definatly a pair, and the female seems to be gravid. If you plan on keeping her make sure you feed her good because she will give babies soon. Nice catch, by the what type habitat did you find them? I've been looking around with no luck here in NJ.

Lu

Yeah. Same here. I'm not having any luck finding snakes in Indiana. What is the best time of day to look for them. Give us some tips! Thanks
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James

most of the Garters i've seen have been in the middle of the day or late afternoon. it was late afternoon when i found these 2 and it was still kind of warm out.

I dont understand why I can go out and find a tail of a garter snake (eaten by a hawk) and no live ones. I tell you, My backyard is acres and acres of land. Many Blueberry fields (acres upon acres) and ditches, wooded areas, grassy areas (acres and acres), ponds with lots of side vegitation and ponds with just the opposite, compost heaps and lots of wood just laying around. I find everything else except these little guys i even released two back into the wild after recieving them from a friend who caught them somewhere else in the town.

I have laid my eyes on the most beautiful eastern garters in the road dead! Here where I live they are Black, black with Bright green and some even blue stripes! Beautiful and the last adult I saw alive was about 5 years ago. Maybe I just have to looks harder?

Luis

i know what you mean. you might have seen my earlier post about finding the Garter that someone had just run over. the snake was still breathing and trying to move around. i wished i could have saved its life. i felt so helpless. sounds like you've got some good areas to check. maybe it's just a matter of being there at the right time. don't give up. you'll eventually see some. we've gotten alot of rain here lately and i think that's what's bringing them out. i've lived in this area for five years now and until recently was getting frustrated about not seeing many Garters. they were so common in the town i grew up in as a kid. sometimes you might be looking a little too hard. that big one in the picture that i caught was sitting in plain view in a patch of vegetation. if he had been beneath it i probably wouldn't have seen him. i was scared he would get away, but he must have been asleep because he didn't move until after i grabbed him. probably taking an afternoon nap! LOL well, be patient, keep looking and good luck.

I f you are looking in the pine barrons They are hard to find.I think it is because there is so many predator snakes around.I go to jersey all the time.I have caught three garters there in my life.
Tom

Im even suprised that there are garters in jersey.the only snakes that i have ever caught here in the bronx are deKeys.kept one for like a week but looked stressed out so put em back in the wild seened him a week later.notice him becuase of a bump he had when i caught em!
Juan m

i found these 2 off of a backroad in a really wooded area. they were close to a stream and there were logs lying around where someone had been cutting wood. it looked like a good habitat for just about any kind of snake, especially Corns and Kings. i spied the big one curled up basking in some vegetation and the other was under a small board.

I live in Utah, have found plenty of garters already (wandering garters) I find them around streams mostly. I caught a pair up in the canyon east of Salt Lake City last weekend and there's still snow on the ground in some areas!

It seems that everyone else has luck. On classifides I almost bought 15 WC Garters native to my area to release on my property. We just built a pond a few years ago now we have lots of frogs and some goldfish are having babies. As long as the garters don't get big enough to eat the Koi I figured it would be okay. But I didn't hasve enough money. I do fell sorry for all those WC Garters.
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James