Garden Snake Texas

Above are four different varieties of garter snakes one might encounter in the garden photos wikipedia closely related to garter snakes are water snakes nerodia species and these are also found frequently in gardens particularly in the northeastern us.
Garden snake texas. This species of snake are usually around 2 to 3 feet long but on occasion have been found to grow as large as 4 feet. Sirtalis endemic to the united states. Texas garter snakes are a terrestrial species. Most snakes in north texas are beneficial to your garden venomous species are rare in d fw but it pays to know what to look for.
Animals snake gift texas garter garden snake source day 13 u2013 new mexico the land of enchantment source colubridae merritt college herpetology source. Even though garter snake has been the common name for thamnophis sirtalis for over 200 years some refer to them as garden snakes because they are often found in gardens the name garter was probably chosen because these snakes like the fancy garters that once were used to hold up men s socks have colorful longitudinal stripes. Dorsalis is historically known only from the el paso area in far west texas though individuals have not been found in years. Garden snakes nicknamed garter snakes come in many varieties various colors and have different markings depending on your area of the country.
A relatively large snake in comparison to some that we have mentioned the texas ratsnake can grow to five feet and more in length with a tan or yellow coloration with unorganized and irregular patches of darker color along the length. What does a garden snake look like. In texas all four subspecies of thamnophis sirtalis are uncommonly encountered with populations scattered along the upper gulf coast central and north central texas the red river valley and the eastern edges of the panhandle thamnophis s. Unlike garter snakes water snakes are relatively boring in color and appearance brown with some darker colors mostly.
These snakes although mild tempered can lash out when threatened or disrupted with the younger adults being more likely to snap than their. They are uncommon even in their. The texas garter snake thamnophis sirtalis annectens is a subspecies of the common garter snake t. It is found predominantly in central texas with disjunct populations in kansas and south dakota.
Texas is home to the highest number of species of snakes in all of the united states with a grand total of 115 species according to the texas parks and wildlife department tpwd. Unlike some other snakes babies of garden snakes are born alive not in eggs to hatch.