Garter snake morph and local info???

[BuckshotMullins]

Hello all, my name is Matt, I literally just joined the forum and im in need of a little help. Ive been searching all over the web for an up to date list of garter snake morphs and locals but its been pretty slim pickens. I'm just getting into the garter snake aspect of the reptile community. So I sat down and started to write down any info pertaining to genetics and such and I happened across this forum. Can any body give me a list of morphs and locals? It would really be appreciated.

So far I have these species and morphs:
California red-sided garter snake
Hypo and neon blue
Chicago garter snake
axanthic
Eastern black necked garter snake, BEAUTIFUL snake
Checkered garter snake
Granite, hypo, and albino
Northwestern garter snake
Anery, orange
Oregon red spotted garter snake
Plains garter snake
albino (Iowa and Nebraska strains) , anery, high red, blue axanthic, snow, hybino, blizzard, Aztec, red, Christmas albino (Iowa strain), and super Christmas albino (also Iowa strain)
Puget sound garter snake
Red sided garter snake
Albino, anery, golden, and snow
Valley garter snake
Wandering garter snake
Melanistic, super checkered, and chocolate

Also I was wondering how you all get the minnows and other bait fish. I live in Ohio and while its warm out I can go to any number of bait stores and get them, but once the cold sets in the only place to get them are commercial pet stores which I avoid at all costs unless im buying bulbs, food/water dishes, and things of that nature.

Thanks in advance guys,
Matt Mullins

[guidofatherof5]

Hello Matt. Be sure to introduce yourself in the "Welcome Lounge" so we can give you a proper welcome.
As far as your list goes there is an albino Northwestern and albino Wandering. The keepers of those snakes are forum members.
Welcome Lounge (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/welcome-lounge/)
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/garter-snake-lounge/9506-i-found-albino-garden-snake.html
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/13349-albino-wandering-update.html

[ConcinusMan]

It's dang near impossible to list them all, but here's some more:

"Checkered garter snake"
U forgot pastel and super pastel


Northwestern garter snake
Anery, orange

There is no anerythristic northwestern and "orange" isn't really a morph. It's just one of many stripe colors. This species displays a high degree of polymorphism and can be many different colors, all of them considered normal. The only "morphs" there are is hypermelanistic(recessive, all-black or dark grey with a very faint stripe ). Then there is "stripeless" (which is actually still normal but it's a stripe that can't be seen because it matches the ground color). There are also no "albino" available in captivity. They are rarely found in the wild and currently there is ONE WC albino in captivity. Another morph is "erythristic".

Oregon red spotted garter snake
"Black and white" Anerythristic
Hypoerythristic
"Blue morph" type anerythristic

Plains garter snake - forget the meaningless labels "iowa" and "nebraska". They mean nothing. What you really mean is T-negative and T-positive. Both types have been found in several states, not just Iowa and nebraska.
albino (T- and T+) , anery, high red (it's called "erythristic"), blue axanthic, snow (is a combo morph. Double homozygous for anery and T- albino) hybino(does not exist. It's just a T- that happens to have an orange stripe instead of yellow) blizzard,(not even sure that one is real) Aztec (does not exist) red(already listed. It's called "erythristic") Christmas albino ,(is an orange T- albino) and super Christmas albino (doesn't exist) . Forgot "erythristic T- albino" which is like "christmas albino" only it's red instead of orange.

Puget sound garter snake (also polymorphic, meaning it comes in various colors including "red morph" which is red spotted and looks a bit like a valley garter) Blue pugets are actually the exception. They only occur in a very small part of their range. Most pugets have yellow, white, or green stripes on a black body. Some have lateral spotting that matches the stripe, some don't.

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/10660-puget-sound-garters-polymorphism.html

[BuckshotMullins]

Thanks guys for clearing some of tht up. I've bred ball pythons and geckos so I have a good understanding of how genetics work but there were a few morphs that were new to me.

[ConcinusMan]

Thanks guys for clearing some of tht up. I've bred ball pythons and geckos so I have a good understanding of how genetics work but there were a few morphs that were new to me.

Because some f them don't exist. Some people just make **** up. It's like "deluxe" it's a meaningless marketing label to make something ordinary sound extraordinary in order to justify the higher price..

[chris-uk]

Welcome aboard.

If you're coming from the royal python (don't know why you Americans call them "balls" when the name is regius) arena... Then forget about all the morphs, with garters their normal paint jobs and personality is plenty to keep you interested. :-D

Welcome aboard.

And when I first read your post I read "So far I have these species and morphs" and thought, "Dang, not a bad number of snakes for someone who is just getting into garters. But before realising that I'd misread.

[gibble888]

Welcome matt...is that your wish list? Here in not too long babies will be all over the place just need to keep your eye out...good luck:)

[BuckshotMullins]

This response is towards ConcinnusMan, I'm a member of numerous forums and I've yet to master the quote function. What I ment by not understanding some of the new morph names I ment morphs like erythristic, which was cleared up for me in the first couple posts. I know some breeders slap a name on a specific color, pattern, ect sort of like a brand that they're attached to.

I agree that there are a good number of species that have have gorgeous "normals", eastern black necked and puget sound garters are at the tippy top of my must get list.

I would spend hours catching garters and dekays brown snakes as a kid, which I still do at 23 years old. So I have a long standing love with this genus of snakes and can't wait to start buying some.

Thanks guys

[ConcinusMan]

I've been at it since i was 7 yrs old. (1977) when I found my first garter, a northwestern. Fact, that happened just 2 blocks from where I live now. No snakes around here now. Last of them vanished around the early 90's. kept many species over the years but garters will always be my favorite i think. recently got some gorgeous montane kingsnakes and I do like them, but they just can't beat garters in the personality dept. The kings aren't exactly interactive. Dang things won't even eat when I'm watching, let alone take it out of my hand. :rolleyes:

[BuckshotMullins]

I was a little older when I caught my first, maybe 8 or 9. I wasn't allowed to have "creepy" pets so I would sneak a couple in for a few days then release them. Almost have my mom a heart attack when she found them one day and after that I had to empty all my pockets and basically get frisked down before I was allowed in the house. I had an albino checkered a few years back before I even knew there was ever a market for garters and the personality just blew me away. On top of that I was like a kid on Christmas on feeding days, I loved watching it chase down the fish.