Eastern Garter Snake

Here's an Eastern Garter Snake I encountered in May. Though it's possible to see quite a few Northern Watersnakes if you live near water, the Eastern Garter Snake is probably the most encountered snake in New Jersey, Connecticut, and probably most of the northeast.

They get their name from garters, bands used primarily to hold up socks/stockings, presumably by someone who thought these striped snakes resembled some striped garters they saw/owned.

Though I thought the term Garter Snake referred to a single species, it appears that both the Common Garter Snake (of which the Eastern Garter Snake is a subspecies) and the very similar looking Ribbon Snake are both snakes in my area that are in the genus that comprises the Garter Snakes. This video says that I've got a Common Garter Snake rather than a Ribbon Snake because of stripes under the mouth in my snake. Another good video for Garter Snake fans is here.

Although you should consider Garter Snakes to be harmless, they are considered to be slightly poisonous and venomous. They have some neurotoxins in their saliva which probably helps them subdue their prey (mostly amphibians) but without fangs to deliver this relatively weak venom it's unlikely to have much effect on a human. They're somewhat poisonous since they eat prey like toads and salamanders that are poisonous, and while they're fairly resistant to those poisons they do retain them for some time after eating them.

Despite being found away from water, these snakes are considered semi-aquatic and are good swimmers. And on a couple occasions I've seen them near to top of bushes, clearly doing a little sun basking. (You might be surprised at how quickly a snake can disappear into a bush when a camera appears, but I wouldn't.)

Garter Snakes (and some other snakes) give birth to live young via ovoviviparous reproduction. (Remember that word if you're playing Scrabble and saddled with a crapload of V's.) This basically means that the mother snakes have eggs that hatch inside them and then they're birthed. 
May 19, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 203067151, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)



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