I know a bit about wildlife and about husbandry with captive snakes, but neither set of my experiences is giving me confidence with the current situation. I signed up on here to get quick feedback from people who know alot more than myself. I am not a fancier, breeder or pet owner of snakes or reptiles.

I have garter snakes living in my backyard. The tiny ones seem fine, active and hard to see staying underneath the grass, as of this morning. There has been one larger snake, who is up in the grass every day and easy to find. She (assumption) is always sluggish, but it is mid-October in central Illinois and I have to wear a jacket every day except for an hour or so around noon. Lows at night in the low 40's, highs maybe hit 70 in the day but not all day, lots of cold wind lately.

Today, she felt very cool and unresponsive. She had a section of skin partially shed, but the shedding didn't look like it was going well. I placed her in warm water, and I saw her breathing and she moved to be half in/ half out of the water. Then I took the photo that is inserted below.

As the day cooled off, she never moved again, and became more cold and still. I picked her up and brought her inside, but have not warmed her beyond the ambient temperature inside. She is in a pillowcase, so I am not viewing her, but she still feels cold and still. When I brought her inside, the temp outside was between 55 and 60 with cloud cover and a cold wind.

If this was a warm-blooded animal, I would say she was dead. I am just not sure whether garter snakes will just lay in the grass on an October day and die... but it doesn't make sense that she would not be properly snuggled up somewhere to hibernate if that is what she was planning to do.

Any way to tell for sure whether she is torpid from temperatures and the possibility of hibernating, or whether she is just dying or dead? Do they get stuck falling into hibernation in bad places, or would she have gone underground for sure if her body was shutting down in that way, rather than dying?

garter snake.jpg
Seems like such a silly question, but I am unsure.

Thank you!!!!