Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found this Garter crossing a road in Ocean County NJ today. It doesn't look like any Eastern that I've ever seen. The ventral scales are the same reddish color that can be seen on the dorsal. The snake was very tame when I captured it and I have a feeling that it might be a released pet. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Steve

I can't figure out how to get the image to load. Any help with that would also be appreciated! Thanks

I hope this image works.

It's a normal eastern garter snake.
Their looks can have many variations throughout their range.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 10/29

Thanks Mike. I've seen countless NJ Garters over the past 30 years but this is the first red one. It was docile even at capture. So docile that I think it may be a former pet. I found this snake in a very isolated area where every other Garter that I've ever seen has been the the typical black and cream colors. It's in the high 30's here today so I don't think it would be the best time to re-release this snake. I think I'll cool it down for the winter and release it into the exact same area in the spring.

Steve

This is what the belly looks like, very red.

Steve

Messed up the image upload, AGAIN.

thats a nomal eastern. its not unusal for them to have varying amounts of red color.