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I'm mainly a Kingsnake guy . . .But this has to be one of the nicest, cleanest, Eastern garters around! It has a reddish hue all over, but check out the red neck patches. Hence the "Red neck garter snake"!!! Found this beauty (a 30 inch female) right at the corner of my house in my front yard yesterday! I guess they DO have some very nice eastern garters here in Cumberland county, NC. (I also found a very red male about 5 miles from here last year.)

Zee

That one is a beauty Zee. Interesting red coloration on that Eastern. You going to keep that female Zee? I have to admit, like you, being mainly a kingsnake guy, these garters are awesome little snakes. My 05 Red-Sided female is a rodent eating pig. Here's a somewhat updated pic of her.

Steve

Thanks Steve! That's a nice red sided garter you got there! I used to live in California and I can tell you that in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Northern California there are some really awesome looking red sided garters to be found!

Zee

Nice one Zee! I have a stoopid newbie question: What's up with the ribbons down in south Texas? Some have the single dot on the head and others from the same "birthing group" (clutch)lol, do not. What's up with that? Here's a checkered garter from my red neck of the woods!
Todd Hughes

Hi there Todd! Nice talkin' to ya the other day!
You, know, I used to find the same thing in Soutwestern Louisiana two different looking head patterns on those dime-a-dozen ribbons! I have found up to 12-15 ribbons under the same tin sheet lots of times down there by the brackish waterways. Of course there are also a good number of speckled kings that feast on them as well . . . Nice looking checkered garter you got there!
I hope to get out to West Texas (near Seminole canyon) in the spring time one of these years and visit that den site that had a lot of black-necked garters in it. But first I MUST do one more trip to "Alterna" land next year!!!

Zee

...from a friend in the NC lowland.

I grew up in North Carolina, and I've never seen one that red before. But then I grew up in the mountains near the NC/Tenn line. Beautiful snake!