How to Identify Sundevall's Garter Snake (Identification Guide)
A stout, burrowing African elapid whose juveniles wear bold pale crossbands on a dark body that fade toward a more uniform brown in adults.
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Key identifying features
Sundevall's Garter Snake (Elapsoidea sundevallii) is one of the African garter snakes, a group of burrowing elapids unrelated to the North American Thamnophis garter snakes despite sharing the common name. It is best recognized by its cylindrical, moderately stout body, a blunt rounded head barely distinct from the neck, and a banded juvenile pattern that fades with age.
Coloration & pattern
Juveniles are strikingly marked, with a dark brown to blackish body crossed by evenly spaced pale white to pinkish bands or rings. As the snake matures these pale bands progressively darken and fade, so that older adults often appear a fairly uniform purplish-brown, grey-brown, or dark brown with only faint traces of the juvenile banding remaining. The belly is usually paler. Importantly, the markings are transverse crossbands rather than the longitudinal stripes that the name "garter" might suggest.
Head, eyes & scales
The head is short, rounded, and only slightly distinct from the neck, an adaptation to a burrowing lifestyle, with small eyes and round pupils. The body scales are smooth and glossy, giving a sleek, shiny appearance.
Size & body shape
This is a small to medium snake, with adults commonly measuring 40 to 70 centimeters, though the largest individuals of this species can approach a meter or slightly more. The body is cylindrical and fairly robust for its length, built for pushing through soil and debris rather than for speed.
Range & habitat where you'll see it
Sundevall's Garter Snake is found across savanna, grassland, and bushveld habitats of southern Africa. It is a secretive, slow-moving burrower, spending much of its time underground or hidden under logs, rocks, and in old termite mounds, and is mostly active at night or after rain rather than in open daylight.
How to tell it apart from look-alikes
Banded juveniles can resemble several other banded southern African snakes, while faded adults can look like various plain brown burrowing species. Key clues are the smooth glossy scales, the blunt burrower's head, and any remnants of pale crossbanding. It is a venomous elapid, though its venom is weak and it is not generally regarded as dangerous to people. Careful attention to band spacing and head shape helps separate it from other African garter snake species.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sundevall's Garter Snake related to North American garter snakes?
No. Despite the shared common name, it is an African garter snake in the elapid family and is not related to the North American Thamnophis garter snakes.
What does its pattern look like?
Juveniles have bold pale white to pinkish crossbands on a dark body, but these fade with age so adults often look fairly uniform brown.
How big does this snake get?
Adults commonly measure 40 to 70 centimeters, with the largest individuals approaching a meter or slightly more.
Where is it found?
In savanna, grassland, and bushveld across southern Africa, usually burrowing or hidden under cover.
When is it active?
It is mostly nocturnal and secretive, emerging at night or after rain rather than during the heat of the day.