Snake I.D help please

[gazzamann]

So today i got myself a new garter but stuck to as which sub spieces it is. The girl i bought it off said it was a common but her dad said it was a nothern. Here she is any help would be appreciated cheers gaz.
912591269127

[RedSidedSPR]

The girl i bought it off said it was a common


her dad said it was a nothern.

Neither exist.

[chris-uk]

It's a Red-sided Garter - Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis.

Unfortunately shops fail to question the common name that the importer incorrectly users and people who buy them and don't do any research about their garter's species perpetuate the incorrect Nomenclature. I'm shocked that the importer can get away without proper ID on the species they import... Makes me wonder about an email to HM Customs to point out that any shipment containing snakes identified to just the T. sirtalis spp. level could contain a protected subspecies, a day seeing whether an increase in inspections persuades the importers to provide better identification - I suspect that they would just claim all the snakes were T. s. sirtalis and assume that nobody inspecting could identify other subspecies.

[gazzamann]

Eastern ? Alought I thought eastern was a common sorry more clued up on other species and sub spieces of garter.

[gazzamann]

Cheers for the info Chris much appreciated

[gazzamann]

There is no red in her though Chris ?

[chris-uk]

There is no red in her though Chris ?

There doesn't have to be. A lot of parietalis don't have visible red. I've got a "Northern" and there's a thread on the forum somewhere where we discussed her species. When she has a particularly large meal I can just see some flecks of red between the scales, but to all intents she is a black and olive-coloured snake. Wonderful temperament as well.

[chris-uk]

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/10048-new-garter-i-just-couldnt-help-myself.html

There's 108 posts in that thread, but the first half dozen posts have a similar ring to them... :)

[gazzamann]

Cheers thanks for the help :)

[chris-uk]

No problem. I'm sure a couple others will chime in if they think I've got the ID wrong.

[Foxrun402]

That does look remarkably like a Parietalis. Stunning that there is no red background on the pattern. but this looks very similar to Suzi my 9 month old T.S.P

http://i1342.photobucket.com/albums/o774/foxrun402/temporary_zpsc2826bcc.jpg (http://s1342.photobucket.com/user/foxrun402/media/temporary_zpsc2826bcc.jpg.html)

If you could grab a picture of the pattern after it has eaten a meal the pattern will stand out more like this... I'm still confused why it wouldn't have the red in the background. Either way you have a good looking garter there ;)

[gazzamann]

I will be feeding tomorrow so I will update to see if any red shows throught, just by inspecting her I cannot see any, cheers gaz