Species

Common garter snake

Thamnophis sirtalis

A striped, adaptable snake of gardens, meadows and stream edges across nearly all of North America.

Photo Mila C. (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Urban wildlife

At a glance

Size: Usually 45 to 70 cm long
Habitat: Meadows, woodland edges, marshes, gardens and parks
Diet: Earthworms, frogs, toads, salamanders, fish and slugs
In Georgia: Common statewide
Venomous: No
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Three light stripes (one down the back, one on each side) on a dark body, often with a chequered pattern between
Told apart from: Common ribbon snake, which is slimmer with a longer tail and a white mark in front of the eye
Where to look: In gardens, meadows and along streams

Behaviour

Garter snakes are active by day and hunt frogs and worms by smell and sight. When handled they release musk. They are one of the snakes that can tolerate the toxins in toads.

Why they matter

Garter snakes eat slugs and worms in gardens and are food for hawks, herons and larger snakes. Their range covers more of North America than any other reptile's.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Young — Born live, often 10 to 40
Size at birth — About 13 to 23 cm
Maturity — In two years
Breeding — Every year
Lifespan — A few years
Diet shift — Young eat worms and small frogs

Living around people

A garter snake is harmless and eats garden slugs.

Misconceptions

Garden snakes are baby snakes of something dangerous. Garter snakes are harmless adults.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Sheltering	Out on warm days	Active; mating	Mating	Active	Active	Young born	Young born	Active	Active	Sheltering	Sheltering

Where it lives

Recorded in 58 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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