Common Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Natricinae, Genus: Thamnophis, Species: T. sirtalis
Widely distributed throughout North America, ranging from Nova Scotia and southern Canada down through much of the United States to the Gulf Coast, excluding parts of the arid Southwest.
Look up Common Garter Snake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Natricinae, Genus: Thamnophis, Species: T. sirtalis
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, with widespread populations adaptable to human-altered environments.
Physical Description
Displays distinctive longitudinal light stripes running down a dark body, typically featuring a prominent vertebral stripe and lateral stripes on the second and third scale rows. Scales are strongly keeled, giving a textured appearance.
Size & Dimensions
Estimated specimen length is around 45 to 60 cm. Typical adult size ranges from 46 to 130 cm in total length.
Habitat
Highly adaptable, found in diverse habitats including wetlands, marshes, woodlands, fields, and agricultural areas such as gardens, typically near a permanent or temporary source of water.
Diet & Feeding
Active forager feeding primarily on amphibians, earthworms, fish, and small mammals, using a grab-and-swallow approach often consuming prey alive.
Reproduction
Viviparous (live-bearing), giving birth to litters typically ranging from 10 to 40 or more young in the late summer after a spring mating season.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, with widespread populations adaptable to human-altered environments.
Cultural Significance
Commonly encountered in suburban gardens and agricultural plots where they help control populations of garden pests such as slugs and insects.
Notable Features
Known for high adaptability, communal brumation sites where hundreds may overwinter together, and the secretion of a foul-smelling musk from anal glands when disturbed.