Mexican Pacific Lowlands Garter Snake

Thamnophis validus (Kennicott, 1860)

Alternate Name	West Coast Garter Snake
Spanish Name	Culebra de Agua Nómada del Oeste Litoral
Subspecies	4 (see below)
Max. Recorded Length	86.7 cm (SVL); 34.1 inches (SVL)
Pet Trade Availability	★☆☆☆ (rarely available)

Mexico: Baja California Sur, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Sinaloa, Sonora.

Cape Garter Snake Thamnophis validus celaeno (Kennicott, 1860): Found at the southern tip of Baja California.
Colima Garter Snake Thamnophis validus isabelleae (Conant, 1953): Isolated pockets along the Pacific coast in Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan and Guerrero.
Tepic Garter Snake Thamnophis validus thamnophisoides (Conant, 1961): Found only on the Rio San Cayetano drainage in Nayarit.
Pacific Garter Snake Thamnophis validus validus (Kennicott, 1860): Found along the Pacific coastline in Sonora, Sinaloa and northern Nayarit.

A website for garter snake enthusiasts, Gartersnake.info provides information on every species of garter snake, including articles, answers to your questions, and the most comprehensive guide to keeping them in captivity on the web.

Gartersnake.info is run by Jonathan Crowe; contact him with your questions or comments. Stay up to date by subscribing to the RSS feed, or go back in time and read earlier articles and blog entries in the archives.

The Snake Scientist
Aimed at readers aged 9 to 12, Sy Montgomery’s children’s book about garter snakes doesn’t insult the intelligence of older readers. (Mar 16)
Some Garter Snake Feeding Problems
There are many reasons why captive snakes won’t eat in captivity. Garter snakes have a few more. (Jan 25)
Garter Snakes in Spring
Photographers capture images of garter snakes emerging from hibernation. (Apr 26)