Name of light blue stripe garter?

[bulrush]

I'm in west Michigan.

Sunday I found a typical olive garter with a yellow stripe on each side, but the top stripe was a light blue. Is this an eastern garter variety? What variation is this one?


I thought I saw a pic of this variety on this site but am unable to find it.

Thanks.

[drache]

it sounds like it could be some kind of radix morph
did you take photos (I hope)?

[bulrush]

No, I did not bring my camera. I am keeping a log of where and when I catch snakes, the time of day, weather, temperature, and length and coloration of each snake.

Is the radix morph found in wester lower Michigan (Kent county)?

Do you have a link to a radix image showing the blue stripe?

I mean, it looked just like some of the olive colored snakes on the thread "Easterns I have met", but the dorsal stripe is a light blue.

[anji1971]

It could simply be another Eastern. They have amazing variation in their colouring. I'm not sure about where radix are found. Something to look into, though. If the geographic areas meet, it could even be a mix.

[drache]

if Michigan is that state nestled between the great lakes, then the southwestern most patch of it, south of the lake, would be the only part of the state that has radix (according to snakefinder)
and of course it could always be a sirtalis

[adamanteus]

I think your snake will almost certainly prove to be an Eastern Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis. That said, it would be nice if we could confirm it with a photograph.

[enigma200316]

I think your snake will almost certainly prove to be an Eastern Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis. That said, it would be nice if we could confirm it with a photograph.

I agree with James on this..........please try to get a pic......

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

most likely an eastern, could be a ribbon but i think its just an eastern

[Sid]

Odds are it is an Eastern Garter, but you also have the Nothern Ribbon Snakes and Butlers Garter there. Check this link for snakes in your state. I believe the Butlers range is rather limited there. DNR - Michigan's Snakes

[beerg69]

I don't know what kind it is, but I found 2 of them today during my internship in Saukville, WI. The top stripe is very blueish/gray in color, right? One thing we noticed is kind of a checkerboard pattern just behind their heads on the bottom few scales. They are much bigger than butler's and one of them bit me, so beware. haha.

We also found a very reddish looking butler's in the same area. I also did not have a camera, but will be working at that site for the next 2 years... hopefully I can find one again and get a pic.