Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

I have to admit, I'm a corn person. If this had been a corn I'd know exactly what I was dealing with, but it's not.

We had someone turn over a very nice little Garter at the clinic today and I was wondering if you fine people could help me out a little? He's very docile, seems to be in fine condition, and has a wonderful temperment. I've been reading up a little on what to feed the little guy, etc., but being a corn morpher, I'm curious as to what exactly he is. Any help?

Species? Morph? (Single gene or selective breeding involved?)

Here's a collage of pics of the little man:

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~~~Hurley

Nice pictures!

I sounds as if somebody caught it and turned it over to you. If so, your best bet is to borrow the Peterson Field Guide for reptiles and amphibians for your area from the public library. Check the range maps in the back to see which garters are in your area. There is a Guide for the eastern 2/3 of the USA and another for the western 1/3 of the USA.

I think that your snake is one of the subspecies of the common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis. The red-sided garter (T. s. parietalis) is wide spread in the middle west and Canada. In the far west it might be the red-spotted garter or California garter. There are probably a few other garters that are marked with red that I haven't thought of.

Good luck.

Paul Hollander

Thanks Paul.

I wasn't sure if it was a normal or not. Growing up in Iowa, I used to find all sorts of Garters, but never any with red on them. Didn't know if the same went for the Chicago area. I just figured the guy got it at the reptile swap here...if it's wild caught, it is in remarkable condition and is remarkably tame and well-adjusted.

Thanks for the info.

Hurley
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~~~Hurley

Aha! Chicago. IMHO, the odds are greater than 99% that your garter is wild caught, simply because there isn't any money in breeding most garters in the USA. But your guess is as good as mine as to his original location. I don't think your snake is a Chicagoland resident because the eastern garter is found there, while red-sided garters are farther west. I'm in central Iowa and have red-sided garters in the woods behind the yard, but most do not have as pretty a red as your snake has.

Garters have a nasty rep for musking when first caught. But many tame easily with a little handling. I think he came through the reptile swap over there or a pet store, too.

The Chicago Herpetological Society (http://www.chicagoherp.org/ ) might be able to help identify your snake. At least they'd have books beside the snake for keying and comparison, while my books are a few miles away.

Paul Hollander

That looks like a red sided garter snake....thamnophis sirtalis parietalis. It's a subspecies of the eastern garter. It has a wide range from Canada down thru the central part of the US.