I'm a sucker for T. ordinoides - Northwestern garter

[guidofatherof5]

I was down in the snake room only to get a couple pair of hemostats for a forum member. I was rushing because I knew I could get them out in today's mail if I worked fast.
I grabbed the items and headed out of the room. As I passed the T. ordinoides - Northwestern Garter paddock I saw them all pressed against the screen with poor little starving faces. I stopped to explain how I would be back in a few minutes but right now I had......................... So, I stopped what I was doing to feed these wonderful snakes. I'm helpless against their powers. I love my radixes but these Northwesterns are second on my list of favorite garters.
They are smaller then most garters but make up for it in personalities.

[joeysgreen]

I've come across T. ordinoides in southern British Columbia. They are super variable in colour and certainly are a fun snake to experience :)

[guidofatherof5]

I've come across T. ordinoides in southern British Columbia. They are super variable in colour and certainly are a fun snake to experience :)

I'm very fortunate to have a few here in Iowa. They are a pure pleasure to work with.

[joeysgreen]

Are they a commonly bred species?

[guidofatherof5]

Are they a commonly bred species?

No, they are not. Some can be a bit temperamental and newborns can be hard to get established.
With all that being said once they are established most problems are over. I think being a smaller species also has something to do with their popularity.
The variety(polymorphism) within the species is second to none in the genus Thamnophis.
Awesome snakes.

[ConcinusMan]

I'm very fortunate to have a few here in Iowa. They are a pure pleasure to work with.

And they were doomed to have their home destroyed by a bulldozer too. A hotel is under construction at the location and a road and parking lots has been put right over their fragment of habitat. They've been barely hanging on in this small patch of habitat for years but it's all gone now. My only regret was that I wasn't able to find more than 7 of them before the bulldozer came through.

[joeysgreen]

That's horrible but all to common. My "ordinoides spot" was at the University of BC in Vancouver. The university turned the entire area into highrise condo's to sell to it's affluent students (I thought that was an oxymoron until I became familiar with campus)

Ian