Species Guide

There are 35 species of garter snake. The goal of this section is to provide information on each one.

Each species page has some basic data about the species, including length, range, legal status, diet, and availability to (and suitability for) the pet trade.

This section has always been in a half-unfinished state. I continue to add details to each species page, but could always use some help. If you’d like to add your contributions, by all means contact me.

If you’d like to know about the garter snakes in your area, select your province, state or country.

If you’re interested in garter snakes, you might also be interested in their closest relatives, such as brown, red-bellied, queen and water snakes. Here’s a list of North American natricine snakes.

Garter Snake Species Pages

  1. Santa Cruz Garter Snake Thamnophis atratus
  2. Bogert’s Garter Snake Thamnophis bogerti
  3. Short-headed Garter Snake Thamnophis brachystoma
  4. Butler’s Garter Snake Thamnophis butleri
  5. Golden-headed Garter Snake Thamnophis chrysocephalus
  6. Conant’s Garter Snake Thamnophis conanti
  7. Sierra Garter Snake Thamnophis couchii
  8. Black-necked Garter Snake Thamnophis cyrtopsis
  9. Western Terrestrial Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans
  10. Mexican Garter Snake Thamnophis eques
  11. Mexican Wandering Garter Snake Thamnophis errans
  12. Exiled Garter Snake Thamnophis exsul
  13. Mesoamerican Highlands Garter Snake Thamnophis fulvus
  14. Giant Garter Snake Thamnophis gigas
  15. Godman’s Garter Snake Thamnophis godmani
  16. Two-striped Garter Snake Thamnophis hammondii
  17. Liner’s Garter Snake Thamnophis lineri
  18. Checkered Garter Snake Thamnophis marcianus
  19. Mexican Black-bellied Garter Snake Thamnophis melanogaster
  20. Tamaulipan Montane Garter Snake Thamnophis mendax
  21. Southern Durango Spotted Garter Snake Thamnophis nigronuchalis
  22. Northwestern Garter Snake Thamnophis ordinoides
  23. Tepalcatepec Valley Garter Snake Thamnophis postremus
  24. Western Ribbon Snake Thamnophis proximus
  25. Yellow-throated Garter Snake Thamnophis pulchrilatus
  26. Plains Garter Snake Thamnophis radix
  27. Rossman’s Garter Snake Thamnophis rossmani
  28. Narrow-headed Garter Snake Thamnophis rufipunctatus
  29. Eastern Ribbon Snake Thamnophis sauritus
  30. Mexican Alpine Blotched Garter Snake Thamnophis scalaris
  31. Mesa Central Blotched Garter Snake Thamnophis scaliger
  32. Common Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis
  33. Sumichrast’s Garter Snake Thamnophis sumichrasti
  34. Madrean Narrow-headed Garter Snake Thamnophis unilabialis
  35. Mexican Pacific Lowlands Garter Snake Thamnophis validus

By Location

If you’re not sure what species you want to learn more about, or you’re interested in learning about which garter snakes live in your area, choose one of the following state, province and country pages: