A small, harmless North American snake with three pale stripes down a dark back, one of the most familiar wild snakes on the continent.
Description
A slender olive, brown, or black snake under 70 cm with three pale yellow, cream, or bluish stripes running the full length of the back and sides. Local populations show enormous colour variation, including all-red, melanistic, and ice-blue forms in different regions.
Behavior
Garter snakes are active in cool weather and forage during the day for frogs, salamanders, fish, and worms. They release a foul musk when handled and have mildly toxic saliva that helps subdue slippery amphibian prey. Females give birth to live young in summer.
Range
The most widely distributed snake in North America, found from the Yukon and Newfoundland south through almost every U.S. state and into northern Mexico. They emerge in spring from large communal hibernacula, sometimes containing thousands of snakes.
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Common Garter Snake starts with C and ends with E. Browse other snakes along the same letter.
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