Checkered Garter Snake
Thamnophis marcianus (Baird and Girard, 1853)
Species Data
| Spanish Name(s) | Sochuate Sochuate de Marcy (T. m. marcianus) Sochuate de Yucatán (T. m. praeocularis) |
|---|---|
| U.S. Range | Arizona, California, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas |
| Mexican Range | Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Yucatan |
| Central American Range | Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua |
| Legal Status | Threatened in Kansas. Consult provincial or state pages for legal restrictions on keeping this species in captivity. |
| Diet | Very broad prey preferences with an observed preference for amphibians. Adapting to eat introduced bullfrog tadpoles in southeastern Arizona. Juveniles will eat earthworms. Easy to convert to mice in captivity. |
| Max. Recorded Length | 108.8 cm |
| Pet Trade Availability | 3 – Frequently available. |
| Captivity Rating | 4 – Excellent captive. |
Subspecies
- (No common name found)
Thamnophis marcianus bovallii Dunn, 1940 - Found in Nicaragua.
- Northern (Marcy's) Checkered Garter Snake
Thamnophis marcianus marcianus (Baird and Girard, 1853) - Found in the United States and northern Mexico, with a relict population in Oaxaca and intergrades with praeocularis in Veracruz, Tabasco and Chiapas. This subspecies is found in the pet trade, where an albino form is popular.
- Yucatan Checkered Garter Snake
Thamnophis marcianus praeocularis (Bocourt, 1892) - Found on the Yucatan Peninsula and in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.
A Gathering of Garter Snakes
The Garter Snakes: Evolution and Ecology