could some one i.d 1 of my garters please

[Paul.c]

As above, I bought a pair of garters and was told they were northerns, but was asked on here what i meant by northerns as there is no such species or sub-species. To be honest i only know what i was told by the seller.
This is a picture of the mother (well i hope, i have not yet tryed to put a pic up on here :) )5207

[guidofatherof5]

My first impression would be T.sirtalis parietalis (Red Sided garter snake)

[kibakiba]

I agre, red sided garter.

[chris-uk]

I agree, it looks like a Red-sided Garter. I have a T. sirtarlis parietalis that was described by the shop as a "Northern Garter", I was less certain about Nobby's species because she has no red at all. It really doesn't help us in the UK when importers and reptile shops sell garters using the Northern Garter name, it's Greg's pet hate and has become one of mine too.
At least now you know the correct species and subspecies for your two Northerns. :)

[thamneil]

I'll second everyone's guesses and say red sided!

[EasternGirl]

Rofl about the "northern garters"...someone should tell our friend the deal with that one. I suspect they would be red-sideds as most of the UK "northern garters" seem to be...

[EasternGirl]

Oh...I just read your post, Chris...guess you have the "northern" thing covered. :D

[InsanePirateDragon]

What is with them calling redsided 'Northern' anyway.

Is it just people who don't care, or are they just trying to sell the reduced red guys as a different spiecies

[guidofatherof5]

What is with them calling redsided 'Northern' anyway.

Is it just people who don't care, or are they just trying to sell the reduced red guys as a different spiecies


It might also be that Red Sided garters are thought of as a Canadian garter, hence Northern.

[chris-uk]

I guess it's laziness on the part of the importer and then shops can't be bothered to do any research to put right the mistake (why bother checking the species and subspecies for a "£30 starter snake", anyone that knows about snakes is buying the more expensive boas and pythons, right?). So, the Northern tag is just something that has propagated in the pet retail sector in the UK. Pure laziness, and an unwillingness to admit that the way they label these snakes is not accurate enough.

There is now only one shop I'd consider buying a garter from, and that's because I know that they wouldn't put a garter on the shelf as a Northern. All the well known (and seemingly respected by the masses of herp keepers) have refused to acknowledge that Northern Garters don't exist - I'm pretty sure that Greg has contacted them all over the years.

[InsanePirateDragon]

That is a sort of problem here in Kansas with red-sided guys always being called Common Garters. And trying to explain the different kinds to people are difficult to some, except for the snake guy I've been talking to.

[Paul.c]

Thanks guys, the crazy thing is i thought all along they were red sided garters but was told differently and just went along with it. It was red sided garters that i started with 30 odd years ago, so a tad embarrasing really lol. Any way the pair of babies i have are still stunners and a welcome addition to my collection now.
Again thank you.

[chris-uk]

Paul - if you bought them as "Northern Garters" they are almost certainly wild-caught. I got a faecal float done on my "northern" today and she has a significant paracite load. You may want to get your vet to test yours, especially if they will mix with other snakes.

[Paul.c]

I know for sure its captive bred mate as a friend of mine bought the original pair of adult (northerns lol) and bred them him self, the pic above is a pic of the adult female that had my baby garters. Cheers any way. :D

[EasternGirl]

Don't be embarrassed...I claim to know a lot about easterns and half the time I can't ID one because there are so many different looking eastern garters in the U.S. :). We have all been stumped by photos of snakes on here...some of the easterns and red-sideds can be tricky to ID...as well as many other species and subspecies.

[chris-uk]

I know for sure its captive bred mate as a friend of mine bought the original pair of adult (northerns lol) and bred them him self, the pic above is a pic of the adult female that had my baby garters. Cheers any way. :D

In that case, as long as the parents were checked for worms your babies will be okay.