Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I teach school and one of my students brought in pictures of a snake that his mother disposed of in her garden and I am not sure what it is.

Too bad she killed it.

looks to me like a harmless Eastern Gartersnake. You're right that it's a shame this animal was killed... In michigan, if it doesn't have a rattler then it can't hurt you. If she picked it up and it bit her that's still no reason to kill it -- I'd love to show her the rather fresh wounds on my left hand from a chipmonk pulled out of a sherman trap...

Anyway, I think you also have Butler's Gartersnake in Michigan which is a species I've never really dealth with so maybe it's one of those. Definitely a Garternsnake in either case and I'll still go with Eastern

Hmmm,.....what a coincidence, seeing a snake and a shovel in the same photo!

It WAS a harmless Eastern Garter(Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis), or a Butler's Garter Snake(Thamnophis butleri), they look VERY similar.

In any case, all the snake was interested in doing was getting a nice meal, instead, it got "whacked" needlessly.

Ignorance of snakes is just WAY too common!,..if they just had some fluffy fur, and big brown eyes, they'd be much better off.

~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I'm picturing right now a tiny little snake covered in short brown fur and beady little eyes and it is too cute!

I am trying to figure out what the garter snake was in the process of swallowing when it was unceremoniously bludgeoned to death.

It obviously been dead long enough to draw a fly.

~~Greg~~

Those look like toad toes sticking out of its mouth.

its a garter for sure but what the hell is it eating?
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jake barney

my addiction:
1.1 ball pythons
0.2.1 corns
1.0 cal king
0.0.1 wc garter

Definitely an eastern Garter. And it is eating a toad.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

It might be worth mentioning that garter snakes also eat slugs. I've found gardeners who get freaked out about snakes like hearing about that.

Billy

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Phillyherping

definitely an eastern garter, totally harmless.....and sad it had to die like this...