I'll be in the market for a garter in the Spring, but am having trouble deciding which subspecies/morph I should get. I'm a one snake type of guy so "get all morphs" is not an option.....

My problem is this: I really like garters' eyes and I'm a sucker symmetric natural patterns. However, the melanistic easterns are so different, come originally from the Great Lakes (like me) and are equally beautiful. Unfortunately, from the pics I've seen they lack the symmetric patterning and the hard metallic eyes. That said, I'd really like to see members' pics of their melanistic easterns with special attention to heads, chins and eyes. My other options are parietalis or just a good old fashioned eastern. thanks for the help.