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An Eastern Garter snake, photograph by the Author.
Two
weekends ago, it was sunny and almost 80oF (27oC) and we
were on a ten mile (16 kilometer) hike, in Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, a
New York State Preserve, located in Depew, New York, when we started to find
snakes...lots of snakes!
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A map of Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, which can be found HERE.
Great Wiggling Balls of Garter
Snakes...
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A close up of some Eastern Garter snakes, wiggling in a ball, photograph by the Author.
And
then we saw it, a big ball of twisting, wiggling garter snakes close to the
path.
It
was the first warm day of spring and I have never seen that many snakes all in
one spot together. I knew that they must
be just coming out of hibernation. At
first, I thought that they were rolling around together, because they were
still cold, but when I did some research, I found that just wasn’t so....
But
before I get to what they were doing, let’s talk about Eastern Garter snakes, how
I knew that that is what they were and about what these snakes do to survive
the cold winters of northeastern United States and Canada.
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Eastern Garter snakes, photograph by the Author.
Eastern Garter snakes...
Eastern
Garter snakes, thamnophis sirtalis, are the most common snake to be
found in New York state. Its scientific
name comes from the Greek word “thamnos” or "bush" and “ophio”
which means "snake", and the Latin word “sirtalis” or "like
a garter". Besides being called the
Eastern Garter snake or the Common Garter snake, depending on what part of
North America you are from, they are also known as an adder, a blue spotted
snake, a broad garter snake, Churchhill's garter snake, a common streaked
snake, a common striped snake, a dusky garter snake, a garden snake, a grass
garter snake, a green spotted garter snake, and a hooped snake1.
Eastern Garter snake or an Eastern
Ribbon Snake...
So
how did you I know that these were Eastern Garter snakes and not the similar
looking Eastern Ribbon snake?
 |
The range of the Eastern Garter and the Eastern Ribbon snake, adapted from “Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)”, by Amelia Gleaton and “Eastern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus)”, by Christina Baker, found HERE and HERE.
Both
the Eastern Garter snake and the Eastern Ribbon snake, thamnophis sauritus,
can be found throughout most of eastern North America, with ranges that extend
from Florida into Canada and west throughout the Mississippi watershed. Because they both have three yellow stripes
running up and down their bodies, and are about the same size, at 16-28 inches
(41 to 71 cm) long; it is easiest to identify them by looking at their head
markings.
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Note the olive-green heads and yellowish upper lip scales, with vertical black marks, and the absence of vertical black and white lines before and after the eyes of these Eastern Garter snakes, photograph by the Author.
The
easiest way to identify a snake as an Eastern Garter snake, is to look for its olive-green
head, yellowish upper lip scales (called supralabial scales), with black vertical
marks on the edges, and additionally these snakes do not have a black line
behind, or a white bar in front of their eyes.
Also, on their bodies, look for three yellowish stripes, which run down
the length of the green, black, or brown body of the snake, one down the center
of the back and one down each side. The stripes
along the sides of the snake are low, occurring on scale rows, two and three. Sometimes sections of the stripes can be
missing and sometimes a checkerboard pattern is visible on the sides between
the stripes.
To
identify a snake as an Eastern Ribbon snake, look for a white upper lip, a head
that is reddish-brown on top, a straight black line behind and a vertical white
bar in front of each eye, and moreover Eastern Ribbon snakes do not have any
black marks on their lip scales. Like
the garter snake, Eastern Ribbon snakes have three yellowish stripes running
the length of their dark colored bodies, although these stripes are higher up
on their sides and are found on scale rows, three and four.
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An Eastern Garter snake, photograph by the Author.
“Brumation” and hibernacula...
It
is cold during the winters in the northeastern parts of the United States and
Canada, far too cold for an ectotherm (cold-blooded) snake to survive without
hibernation, or as it is called in reptiles “brumation”, and that is
just what garter snakes do! Eastern
Garter snakes, like other snakes, overwinter in old chipmunk or woodchuck dens,
old stone walls, building foundations, or rock piles; these brumation sites are
called “hibernacula”. The best
hibernaculum are below the local frost line or have a southern exposure and
receive enough radiant heat from the Sun to prevent the snakes from
freezing. Dozens of snakes will den in a
good site and will return to it year after year. Also, congregating together helps the snakes
to retain moisture. Before entering
brumation, a snake will stop eating for a couple of weeks, and once they enter
the hibernacula and begin to brumate, their heartbeat, respiration and
metabolism all slow down, and their temperature drops to between 35o
to 45oF (2o to 7oC). Eastern Garter snakes brumate (hibernate) from
late October through late March to early April.
Once
Spring arrives, the male snakes leave the hibernacula first and wait for the
females to leave. Once the females leave
the den, the males which emit pheromones to attract the females, surround them
in a wiggling snake ball! And that gets
us to the question of just what were they doing?
Well,
you probably guessed it, they were having wild snake sex!
So
next year, in the last few days of March or the first couple of days of April,
take to the woods and look for Eastern Garter snakes just leaving their winter
dens and rolling around in great wiggling balls of garter snakes. If you don’t want to wait until next year to
find the snakes leaving their den, watch my video “Great Wiggling Balls of
Garter Snakes”, HERE.
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Eastern Garter snakes, photograph by the Author.
Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Best By Date©”, where we
will talk about if that food you found in your survival kit, the back of your cupboard,
or that box is still good.
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1 In
this otherwise excellent resource, they mentioned that the eastern garter snake
is also known as a “brown snake”, which maybe it is, however the brown
snake is actually its own species and for more information on brown snakes read
“Watch Your Step! ©”, HERE,
or watch my video about the brown snake I almost stepped on, HERE.
From
“Eastern Gartersnake, Thamnophis
sirtalis sirtalis”, The Official State Snake of Virginia”, by the Virginia
Herpetological Society,
Sources
Baker, Christina and edited by Willson, J.D.; “Eastern Ribbon Snake
(Thamnophis sauritus)” Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of
Georgia, https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/thasau.htm, accessed April 16, 2021
Gleaton, Amelia and edited by Willson, J.D.; “Eastern
Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)” Savannah
River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/thasir.htm, accessed April 16,
2021
Mitchell, Sandra; “Where
Do Snakes Go In Winter?”, March 19, 2020, The Adirondack Almanack, https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/03/where-do-snakes-go-in-winter.html, accessed April 16, 2021
O’Roark, Patrick; “Earth Matters: Garter snakes emerge for their grand
coming-out party in March and April”, February 23, 2018, Daily Hampshire
Gazette [Northampton, MA, © 2020 by H.S. Gere & Sons, Inc.], https://www.gazettenet.com/earth-matters-15670295, accessed April 16, 2021
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, “Animal Facts:
Common garter snake”, Canadian
Geographic, [© 2020 Canadian Geographic Enterprises], https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/animal-facts-common-garter-snake, accessed April 16, 2021
Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, “Common Garter
Snake”, [Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife,
Montpelier, VT, © 2021 State of Vermont]
https://vtfishandwildlife.com/learn-more/vermont-critters/reptiles/common-garter-snake,
accessed April 16, 2021
“Common Gartersnake, Thamnophis sirtalis” [© 2021 Vermont Reptile and
Amphibian Atlas], https://www.vtherpatlas.org/herp-species-in-vermont/thamnophis-sirtalis/, accessed April 16, 2021
Virginia Herpetological Society, “Eastern Gartersnake, Thamnophis
sirtalis sirtalis”, The Official State Snake of Virginia”, [© 2021 Virginia Herpetological Society], https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/snakes/eastern-gartersnake/eastern_gartersnake.php, accessed April 16, 2021
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