Most garter snakes spend the winter in communal dens, coming out in the warm days of spring to mate. Females are larger than males and they grow longer until about one year after they mature. Western terrestrial garter snakes are important predators of small animals and are, in turn, preyed on by larger predators, such as birds and mammals. Garter snakes are not insectivores. Accessed They are preyed on by a wide variety of predatory birds and mammals. When a garter snake is handled, it will thrash its body about, spiraling over and over in an attempt to escape and while doing this it releases a mix of musk and feces from its tail vent. Bronikowski, A., D. Vleck. The western garter snake is able to constrict its prey which is not done by other garter snakes. Hi, my name is Bud. Young snakes eat mainly insects, slugs, leeches, and worms. [3] Several cases of mild human envenomation with local edema and other symptoms (but without any systemic symptoms) have occurred from the wandering garter snake subspecies, including in Colorado. Geographic variation in the foraging behavior of the garter snake, Thamnophis elegans. at http://www.thamnophis.com/archive/articles/artic22.htm. Its belly is pale in color. Some varieties have red or black spots between the dorsal stripe and the side stripes. [12] Further, this appears to be genetically determined as this variation in diet is observed in newborn snakes from both populations. Immobility and supination in garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans) following handling by human predators. "Western Terrestrial Garter Snake" (On-line). [4][5], This species is the only garter snake species with a well-documented tendency to constrict prey, although the constriction is inefficient when compared with the constriction of many other snakes (such as the gopher snake), involving disorganized, loose, and sometimes unstable coils and a longer time required to kill prey. This gives the stripes a zigzag pattern. 1997. Western terrestrial garter snakes produce a very mildly neurotoxic venom, but do not pose a threat to people as they cannot effectively deliver the venom to anything but their small prey. They are solitary during their active times of year, but hibernate in groups during winter or during very hot times in the summer. It is a partnership of the University of Michigan School of Education, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and the Detroit Public Schools. at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/node/972/print. [12] They are also less likely to attack and ingest fish. Like every two weeks or so.

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