Spot and Zig are my only 2 checker garters, Spot was brought to me by my son 2 years ago, and Zig he found last fall.

They both eat like crazy, but seem relatively small for as long as they have been here. Both look outwardly male, are very active & hold "alpha" positions in the environment where they live.

Comparatively speaking, are adult checkers smaller than say an Eastern or Radix?

Spot is about 18 inches, zig about 9-10 inches. Feed on minnows and worms almost daily.

"spot" was easy, Zig has a distinct Zig Zag to his dorsal spots, so Zig it was.

Any thoughts / observations???? does "Spot" look like some kind of checker/eastern cross breed? or a "spotted eastern"

Wayne