Garter Snakes: Identifying, Caregiving, and Life Cycle

Garter Snakes: Activity

They are not normally agressive, they are more

of a calm species. They like to sit on the sun warmed road during the evening, and at dawn because theres less activity.

Food and Eating Habits

Garter snakes, like all snakes, eat meat. Their diet has almost any creature that they are capable of overpowering: insects, slugs, snails, earthworms, leeches, rodents, lizards, amphibians and sometimes they will even eat carrion and even baby birds. When near the water, they will eat fish. The ribbon snake in particular loves frogs (even tadpoles), eating them despite their strong chemical defenses. Food is swallowed whole. Although eating mostly live animals, they will sometimes eat eggs.

Defense

Run and Hide: If disturbed, a garter snake may strike, and will often coil, but usually it will hide its head and wave its tail. These snakes will also squirt a gros smelling, musky-scented secretion from their butt. They often use these techniques to escape when caught by a predator. They will also slither into the water to escape a predator on land. Hawks, crows, raccoons, crayfish and other snake species (such as the coral snake and king snakes) will eat garter snakes, with even shrews and frogs eating the babies.

Identifying

A garter snake looks very similar to some ribbon snakes, but is easily identified. A garter snake has checkers, like its cousin the ribbon snake, but it also usually has stripes. It has a round head, not triangular, so it is easily deterred from any venomous reptile.

Extra Information

They grow to lengths of just over a meter, and they are not very aggressive. They have to eat mice, small fish, or other very small animals. They can keep chipmunks out of your garden. They also like to come out at the crack of dawn, for there’s less activity, and sunset to sit on the warm road.

Good Pets

Garter snakes are easily identifiable, quiet, and not aggressive-natured. That’s why they make good pets. They can’t love, hate, or indifferent. They are cold blooded which means, they cannot regulate their body temperature. If you have one you will need a hot rock. But you have to be careful not to turn it up too high, for it will burn the snake.

Garter Snakes: Identifying, Caregiving, and Life Cycle

Size and shape

Garter snakes grow to just over a meter long, and they have a round head. They Aren't too fat they are more slender. The male is usually larger.

Reproduction

Garter snakes start mating as soon as they come out of hibernation. During mating season, the males will mate with more than one female. Males comes out of their dens and, as soon as the females begin coming out, the males surround them. A male sends out pheromones, and the female will follow the pheromones to an attractive male and mate with him. Once pregnant, a female will retire from the mating and find food and a place to give birth. Female garter snakes are able to store the male's sperm before beginning the impregnation. The young are incubated in the lower abdomen, at about the middle of the length of the mother's body. Garter snakes are oviparous, meaning they give birth to live young. Gestation is two to three months. As few as 3 or as many as 50 may be born in a single litter. The babies are independent upon birth, abandoning the mother.