Eastern Ribbon Snake

Thamnophis sauritus (Linnaeus, 1766)

French Name	Couleuvre mince
Canadian Range	Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec
U.S. Range	Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin
Legal Status	Special Concern in Ontario, Threatened in Nova Scotia (COSEWIC). Endangered in Illinois and Wisconsin. Lower Keys population Threatened in Florida. Special Concern in Kentucky and Maine. Consult provincial or state pages for legal restrictions on keeping this species in captivity.
Diet	Principally frogs, also other amphibians and fish.
Max. Recorded Length	101.8 cm
Pet Trade Availability	2 – Sometimes available.
Captivity Rating	No data available.

Northern Ribbon Snake (T. s. septentrionalis). Bruce County, Ontario, 2003. Photo: Jonathan Crowe.

Northern Ribbon Snake (T. s. septentrionalis). Pontiac County, Quebec, 2004. Photo: Mathieu Ouellette.

Northern Ribbon Snake (T. s. septentrionalis), juvenile. Pontiac County, Quebec, 2004. Photo: Mathieu Ouellette.

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Blue-striped Ribbon Snake Thamnophis sauritus nitae Rossman, 1963: Blue-striped subspecies from the same region of the Florida panhandle as the Blue-striped Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis similis; not recognized by Collins.
Peninsular Ribbon Snake Thamnophis sauritus sackenii (Kennicott, 1859): Found in southeastern Georgia and most of peninsular Florida.
Eastern Ribbon Snake Thamnophis sauritus sauritus (Linnaeus, 1766): Found south of the Great Lakes basin and north of the Florida peninsula and southeastern Georgia
Northern Ribbon Snake Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis Rossman, 1963: Great Lakes basin, western New York, Maine and Nova Scotia.

Telling Garter Snakes and Ribbon Snakes Apart: This article explains how to figure out the difference between ribbon snakes and garter snakes when you encounter them in the wild. (May 30, 2006)
Questions About Ribbon Snakes in Captivity: Ribbon snakes are supposed to be less than satisfactory captives, but an encounter with some Northern Ribbon Snakes made me rethink that view. (June 4, 2004)