new garter snake,

[flakgunner]

hey,
Are backyard ,has hundreds of Western Plains Garter snakes,we've got the backyard setup just for them,when its time to cut the grass my youngest ones,have to walk in front of the lawnmower and move them out of the way,our youngest daughter walks the neighborhood ,and finds them crossing the road ,and releases them in the backyard,this year,we've noticed that their are some of the largest Western Plains we've ever seen!!,some pushing 3ft. and a least 1in. thick,maybe its the Cicada's this year.Well a couple of weeks ago.walking the fence line,I came across a Western Plains about 12in.,i yelled for help,kids came running ,took us a bit to catch her,oh!man! this is a keeper,,standard color of most of these are black,sometimes dk.brown,,hint of very dk. green,with classic three stripes,2 yellow and the center one orange.This one,main color is soft yellowish tan,with small alternating black spots,running down its entire length,three stripes can be seen but the yellow stripes are very light,and the center stripe,a soft pastel orange,the scales on the head,are a steely gray/green,edged with fine black lines,her belly is a soft yellowish/white.I've got a digital camera,so I'll try to take some decent pics,hit or miss if i can get them downloaded on the PC,and I'll need help,putting them on this site.

She eating like a little pigger,a couple hugh nightcrawlers every other day,and 8/10 minnows a week.

I've been collecting/caring for and raising snakes some 35yrs. now,first odd/not normal looking snake I've every came across ,outside.

Joe

[adamanteus]

Hi Joe, I'll look forward to seeing the pictures of that one! To upload your photos into the thread just follow these instructions;
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/site-feedback-suggestions-questions/1008-guide-posting-pictures.html
But please not that the "upload" button may not appear on your screen until you having posted three or four times.

[flakgunner]

hey,
Thanks James,Iam not very good with PC's,my 17 yr old boy is the PC wiz,but he's leaving in 10 days for the military academy,and won't be home until mid-Dec.then in Jan. 08 he goes straight to Ft.Benning,Ga..so I will need PC help!
It's sort of odd growing up around Algonquin,Il. we got alot of Eastern and Chicago Gartersnakes and a Western Plains Gartersnake was a rare treat.now living outside of WonderLake,Il.(20 mi. away)it all Western Plains.7 yrs. now .I've yet to see anything else other.a couple of weeks after we moved here boy #2 ,found a baby Foxsnake ,dead in the road,and a couple of years ago,caught a ringneck snake,thats it,it's all been Western Plains.I can go outside the back door ,right now and within minutes,have 20+.I'll even try to take afew photos from the backyard.showing these massive heavy little beauty's ,we got this year.

Joe

[Serpentine99]

that's awesome that you have so many garters in your backyard, makes me want to move to Illinois. judging by the size of those garters you described, it seems your backyard is a perfect habitat for those little guys. You also have the same problem i do, the only snakes i see besides garters are dead. i've seen Rat Snakes, Racers, Ringnecks, and even Rough green snakes squashed on the road, but I haven't seen any of those species alive in the wild.:confused:

[ssssnakeluvr]

Can't wait to see the pics!!!!!

[flakgunner]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD530081.JPG

[flakgunner]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD530078.JPG

[flakgunner]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD530080.JPG

[flakgunner]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD530082.JPG

[stonyloam]

Wow!!! Nice!!!

[flakgunner]

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD5300831.JPG

[adamanteus]

Beautiful T. radix, Joe. One of my all time favourites. I have 1.2 myself!:D

[Sid]

Awsome speciman, Joe. Thanks for sharing the photos with us.:)

Sid

[flakgunner]

hey,
she's a beaut!we caught her ,memorial weekend,crawling thru our rasberry bushes,when I laid my eyes on her the first time,it took me quite by surprize,wasn;t sure what i was looking at,lost her the first time,she went under our fence into the nieghbors,about 15 minutes later she reappeared,thats when i called for the kids ,to help surround her,almost lost it the second time!we have so many Western Plains in the backyard,no reason to add to my collection of ratsnakes,kingsnakes,bull snake,indo gartersnake,but when i saw those colors,we went overboard on her setup,within days she was eating,within a week she was taking nightcrawlers and minnows right from our fingers,and within the last month she's grown and good two inches and shed twice,my son downloaded these pics,for me,I've got some more,from the backyard showing the hugh monsters we've got running thru here,i'll try a little later to download them myself,and add them.

first snake I ever saw/caught was a skinny little Eastern Gartersnake,at a forest preserve in Cook County,early 70's,i would have been around 14/15

Joe

[drache]

that's a beautiful snake
nice to meet you, Joe

[adamanteus]

Have you tried her on pinkies yet, Joe? Life is so much easier once they're accepting rodents!

[Snaky]

Awesome snake! Please breed with her! ( although I probably can't get young from you :D)

I'd second the command from James, try a bit of difference in the diet: fish, pinkies, ... The worms are good as a treat, but do not contain so much nutrients and lack calcium.

[ScimitarX]

Wow, she is a beauty!!

[Stefan-A]

Nice radix. :)

[GarterGuy]

Very nice looking T.radix.....very jealous :eek: .....LOL.

Roy

[flakgunner]

hey,
well,I'am going to try this again,I messed up and deleted "My Photo's"

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD5300811.JPG

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD5300801.JPG

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD5300821.JPG

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/SD5300831.JPG

wo!hoo!it actual worked,and no help from the kids.Western Plains Garter snake caught memorial weekend,2007 in our backyard

[zooplan]

Nice pics, nice snake too of course.
Really intensive and clear pattern, you should be proud and happy to see her alive:)

[GarterGirl]

Oooh!
Its so beautiful and cute! :-)
I wish i could have one!
Jealousy is overcoming me!