Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last year I bought an adult female florida blue eastern garter snake. Not the greatest looking specimen, she wasn't blue at all, but she was gravid, healthy, alert, and priced right so I figured, why not? She has blossomed into a very nice looking snake, actually! With a year of proper care and lots of food, she has come from that brown, petite (just had babies in that photo) bland looking snake to a chubby checkered beauty with a lovely blueish green hue to her entire body. I find it rather attractive and she is one my favorite garters in my entire collection!

For comparison, here she was when i first got her: not blue at all!!! Not even on the face!

Here she is now after a year of good food and tender loving care!! She truely has undergone a dramatic color change... she was not blue at all before! This snake made me a believer that a good diet and lots of food will bring out the best in a snake!

Holy crap! That is one friggin dramatic color change for an adult. If you hadn't told us, I would never have guessed that those two were the same animal. I know that often times baby Fl blues are born dull looking and then color up later on, but that's usually only after a few months of age.

It looks like you have a late bloomer there.

She came from a wholesaler, she was the only thamnophis he had there. She was $35, and now that I think about it a damned good investment at that. One of my most favorite snakes, for her bold personality. Basically, this just shows how big of a difference there is between a wholesaler's usually less than optimal care and a private collector/breeder's (such as all of us) care!!