Thamnophis sirtalis
Copyright, Jeff LeClere
The Eastern Garter Snake
is one of our most common snakes. It grows up to four feet
long. It's color patterns can vary, but it almost always has
three yellow stripes. Usually there is a checkerboard
pattern of dark spots between the stripes. These snakes are usually
found near water or moist places, including marshes,
streams,
damp woods, wet meadows,
parks, gardens,
weed
patches, farms, and forest
edges. Garter snakes are very
active, and can be found day or night, though they're most
active during the day. They are usually seen among
vegetation
(plants). Martin C. Schmidt,
Ph.D. Copyright 2001, Troy
Bartlett (http://troyb.com/photo/index.htm) Eastern Garter Snakes
hunt or bask
during the day. Basking is what cold-blooded animals, like
reptiles, do to get warm. Their bodies need the heat of the
sun to digest their food. Snakes usually bask somewhere that
gives them a place to quickly hide, such as rocks, logs, or
mammal burrows. Garter snakes have many
types of prey,
including: frogs, toads, salamanders, earthworms, small
fish, tadpoles, mice, bird eggs,
slugs, crayfish, leeches, insects,
and small snakes. They also eat carrion,
and often get run over by cars when they try to eat some
small dead animal (such as a frog) off a road.
Copyright, Mike Pingleton
Eastern Garter Snakes
mate from late March to early May. Sometimes when several
males find a female at the same time, they form a "breeding
ball." A breeding ball is when snakes wrap themselves around
each other, trying to mate. See the picture of a garter
snake breeding ball further down the page. Females do not lay eggs,
like most snakes, but instead give birth to live young. Each
baby snake is five to nine inches long. Over 50 young can be
born together. Most of them will not survive as young snakes
have many predators. Predators of garter
snakes include: hawks, skunks, raccoons, Virginia Opossum,
larger snakes, and Bullfrogs. Copyright 2001, Troy
Bartlett (http://troyb.com/photo/index.htm)
|
Copyright, Mike Pingleton |
In Winter, garter snakes hibernate, usually with other garter snakes, and sometimes with other species. Winter dens may be under large rocks or inside mammal burrows. Eastern Garter Snakes are the first snakes to become active in Spring. They have even been seen crawling over snow. Garter snakes are good swimmers, but are not as good at climbing as some other snakes. They spend most of their time on the ground or in low shrubs and other plants. If attacked, a garter snake will release a bad-smelling odor. They also bite. Garter snakes can live up to 10 years. |
Eastern Garter Snake breeding ball (Copyright, Mark Khosravi)