My first Garters! What species are they?

[boyer45]

Hi everybody, I finally have my first Garters!! Yay!! I am so happy. I have been trying to catch one all summer. I finally found a couple hanging out in my yard. I think they are the Plains Garter Thamnophis radix but I am not sure. I live in St. Louis, Mo. and I know there are only 3 species here. They are both doing great and eating with no problems.Thanks for your help!!

[boyer45]

Sorry guys, I put this in urgent care and I don't know how to delete it. It is not urgent and I meant to put it in general.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Perhaps we can just say that it was urgent from somebody to confirm that indeed those are Radixes you have. Wide dorsal and very dark patterning with smaller checkers than a checkered. Pretty darn sure it's Radixes. Very healthy ones at that (I don't know if the pics are of the same one). Should give us some good full body shots of that one, looks to be a girl and halfway decent chance she's gravid if shes WC (or if not just had her clutch, she's certainly fat enough). If she's not she might become next year if she has stored sperm.

[guidofatherof5]

Good looking T. radix - Plains Garter Snake
Here's the range map for them Page 236 of "The Garter Snake Evolution and Ecology by Rossman, Ford and Seigel

[boyer45]

Thanks! The pics are of the same one. It is the smaller one. The bigger one is hard to photograph because it hides every time I open the cage. I will try to get some more pics today. The one in the pictures shed a couple of days after I caught it.Do they do that when they are gravid?

[Rushthezeppelin]

Yes they do often shed especially before actually birthing scrubs.....granted a full grown snake will still shed without being gravid though (they just don't shed as often).

[BUSHSNAKE]

they look more like a sirtalis sp. to me

[boyer45]

OK so here are some pics of the larger one. They are not great but I have to take what I can get.I hope they start to trust me soon so they don't head for the hills every time they see me!! The smaller one is about about a foot when fully extended and the larger one is about a foot and 1/4th. I noticed that they have two small yellow lines on their heads. They are very short and separate. you can kind of see them in the first pics I posted.

[guidofatherof5]

Those are lines are called parietal spots.

[Albert Clark]

I initially thought they were Easterns.