new garter snake,

[flakgunner]

hey,
Are backyard ,has hundreds of Western Plains Garter snakes,we've got the backyard setup just for them,when its time to cut the grass my youngest ones,have to walk in front of the lawnmower and move them out of the way,our youngest daughter walks the neighborhood ,and finds them crossing the road ,and releases them in the backyard,this year,we've noticed that their are some of the largest Western Plains we've ever seen!!,some pushing 3ft. and a least 1in. thick,maybe its the Cicada's this year.Well a couple of weeks ago.walking the fence line,I came across a Western Plains about 12in.,i yelled for help,kids came running ,took us a bit to catch her,oh!man! this is a keeper,,standard color of most of these are black,sometimes dk.brown,,hint of very dk. green,with classic three stripes,2 yellow and the center one orange.This one,main color is soft yellowish tan,with small alternating black spots,running down its entire length,three stripes can be seen but the yellow stripes are very light,and the center stripe,a soft pastel orange,the scales on the head,are a steely gray/green,edged with fine black lines,her belly is a soft yellowish/white.I've got a digital camera,so I'll try to take some decent pics,hit or miss if i can get them downloaded on the PC,and I'll need help,putting them on this site.

She eating like a little pigger,a couple hugh nightcrawlers every other day,and 8/10 minnows a week.

I've been collecting/caring for and raising snakes some 35yrs. now,first odd/not normal looking snake I've every came across ,outside.

Joe

[adamanteus]

Hi Joe, I'll look forward to seeing the pictures of that one! To upload your photos into the thread just follow these instructions;
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/site...-pictures.html
But please not that the "upload" button may not appear on your screen until you having posted three or four times.

[flakgunner]

hey,
Thanks James,Iam not very good with PC's,my 17 yr old boy is the PC wiz,but he's leaving in 10 days for the military academy,and won't be home until mid-Dec.then in Jan. 08 he goes straight to Ft.Benning,Ga..so I will need PC help!
It's sort of odd growing up around Algonquin,Il. we got alot of Eastern and Chicago Gartersnakes and a Western Plains Gartersnake was a rare treat.now living outside of WonderLake,Il.(20 mi. away)it all Western Plains.7 yrs. now .I've yet to see anything else other.a couple of weeks after we moved here boy #2 ,found a baby Foxsnake ,dead in the road,and a couple of years ago,caught a ringneck snake,thats it,it's all been Western Plains.I can go outside the back door ,right now and within minutes,have 20+.I'll even try to take afew photos from the backyard.showing these massive heavy little beauty's ,we got this year.

Joe

[Serpentine99]

that's awesome that you have so many garters in your backyard, makes me want to move to Illinois. judging by the size of those garters you described, it seems your backyard is a perfect habitat for those little guys. You also have the same problem i do, the only snakes i see besides garters are dead. i've seen Rat Snakes, Racers, Ringnecks, and even Rough green snakes squashed on the road, but I haven't seen any of those species alive in the wild.

[ssssnakeluvr]

Can't wait to see the pics!!!!!

[flakgunner]

[flakgunner]

[flakgunner]

[flakgunner]

[stonyloam]

Wow!!! Nice!!!