Types Of Garter Snakes

Read about specific types of garter snakes:

Common Garter Snake

San Francisco Garter Snake

Checkered Garter Snake

Red-Sided Garter Snake

Eastern Garter Snake

Depending on the area where the garter snake is found, the tone of their skin varies. Most people run the other way when the come across a snake, but Garter Snakes are harmless to humans.

Some call the garter snake the North American snake and situates it between Alaska and Central America while other biologists place them only in South America. These snakes are commonly called “garden snakes” due to that they are a common sight in any garden. The common garter snake, T. sirtalis, is the only species of snake to be found in Alaska and is one of the northernmost species of snake in the world, second to the Crossed Viper, Vipera berus  Northern populations hibernate longer than southern ones. And the western ones love water more than the eastern portion.

There is no real consensus exactly how many species of Thamnophis there are and, that only two types of snakes are separated snakes and the rest are subspecies of the same species. The San Francisco garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia, however, is an endangered subspecies and has been on the endangered list since 1967. It has a red and orange colored pattern on its back. Crayfish has been the responsible predator contributing to the decline of the head garter snake, T. rufipunctatu. The snake temperament is calm, in case of danger it tries to escape seeking refuge in the water. If it feels trapped it squirts the contents of some glands with a sickening bitter smell. It can flatten the neck to try to intimidate its aggressor.  There is no record that it tries to bite as a defense mechanism. 

In captivity these behaviors disappear quickly if your garter snake is taken care of properly. Most Thamnophis snakes have a grayish olive or coffee or black color spine. The spinal columns line could be a yellowish, orange, gray or reddish color. There is a yellowish line on either side of the animal.

The following are the most common species of garter snakes known: The family is CULIBRIDAE, the Genus is THAMNOPHIS.

Thamnophis crysocephalus, Thamnophis yrtopsis, Thamnophis eques, Thamnophis errands, Thamnophis exsul, Thamnophis fulvus, Thamnophis godmani, Thamnophis marcianus, Thamnophis melanogaster, Thamnophis proximus, Thamnophis pulchrilatus, Thamnophis scalaris, Thamnophis scaliger, Thamnophis sirtalis ,Thamnophis sumichrasti and Thamnophis validus.