Migration study! :D

[k2l3d4]

Don,
Do you know if the duck reported it? I hope you went to the authorities and gave a statement. Citizen involvement is one of the real deterrents to crime. Otherwise, this sort of thing just keeps happening.
You can tell I've been a cop way too long.

LOL LOL LOL Oh that is too good

[ssssnakeluvr]

Don,
Do you know if the duck reported it? I hope you went to the authorities and gave a statement. Citizen involvement is one of the real deterrents to crime. Otherwise, this sort of thing just keeps happening.
You can tell I've been a cop way too long.

thats too funny!!!!!

[Serpentine99]

I find this breeding theory very interesting. The fact that only the adults brumate together means that in the Garter world if you can't breed you're an Outsider. They adults would probably just eat the young anyway after the exhaustion of mating.

[guidofatherof5]

Just a thought as to why the babies don't brumate with the adults is they may not be able to make the long trip back to the den that first year. It may also be easier to find a place below the frost line when you're very small. Cracks in the soil, smaller rodent dens, etc.
Finding a brumation site in your local area also eliminates much of your exposure time to preditors. When your at the bottom of the food chain the less time you spend advertising yourself as a "Happy Meal" lets you survive. Just a thought.

[Zephyr]

Just a thought as to why the babies don't brumate with the adults is they may not be able to make the long trip back to the den that first year. It may also be easier to find a place below the frost line when you're very small. Cracks in the soil, smaller rodent dens, etc.
Finding a brumation site in your local area also eliminates much of your exposure time to preditors. When your at the bottom of the food chain the less time you spend advertising yourself as a "Happy Meal" lets you survive. Just a thought.

And a very good one indeed!
I've thought many times about how these babies could make a 2 mile trek following only pheromones, especially since I've seen them still at birthing sites in mid fall.

[Stefan-A]

It'll be interesting to follow the progress of this study.


To quote the 1985 recovery plan for the San Francisco garter:
Fitch (1965) found that males of the red-sided garter snake in Kansas moved an average of about 532 m and females about 347 m between their summer habitat and overwintering dens. Gregory and Stewart (1975) found that summer dispersal of the same subspecies in the Interlake region of Manitoba, Canada involved long distances ranging from 4.3 km to 17.7 km. The average distance moved in Manitoba was 10.7 km.

[Zephyr]

New data!
Big females like it HOT!!!
We found more 24" plus females out and about than ever!
And LOTS of babies!
Males seem to like things cooler.
ALSO.
I have found the reason for the success of the garter population at the estate to be the large amount of food available; snakes near the Rose Garden pond and lake have access to tadpoles and frogs en masse. Snakes at the garden plots and flood plains don't have access to either of these foods, so their diet consists almost entirely of worms! (I have a specimen of the prevalent worm species with me; I'm hoping to get it ID'd!)
The frog and toad diet-hypothesis is based on the large and condensed balls of food seen in the snakes from these area's stomachs. (AKA it must be tadpoles/frogs/toads.)
The worm diet is not an assumption; Several snakes from the flood plains puked over my friend and I's shirts. (Much to my delight and to his disdain.)

**EDIT- Using a UK site, I have ID'd the worm species as the chestnut worm, Lumbricus castaneus! I'd go so far as the make the assumption the garter snakes have a thing for all members of the genus Lumbricus.

[Snake lover 3-25]

neat thanks for the info!

[guidofatherof5]

Lumbricus castaneus Here's a photo. I was curious.
Lumbricus castaneus

[Zephyr]

And for ID purposes...
This is probably THE best site on the net for worm ID info.
Earthworm guide | OPAL