Quote Originally Posted by RicMartin View Post
... the local ones here (California) are legally out of the question for me...
Not necessarily. It's not at all against state law for you to collect and keep several native garter snake species (there is of course, a bag limit). You just can't breed, buy, sell, or import them from elsewhere. The only exception to that is certain counties or cities may prohibit it (collecting and keeping native garter snakes) even though state law allows it. For example, San Diego county does not allow keeping or collecting native reptiles at all.

I asked them directly, asked the right questions, and got the correct and updated info on that just recently: Reptile Regulations by State - Caresheets