Western Terrestrial Garter Snake

Fascinating facts about the Western Terrestrial Garter Snake

• From sea level to almost 4 km high, the western terrestrial garter snake in grasslands, woodlands and conifer forests. It even swaps habitats, being mainly ground-dwelling but turning semi-aquatic in the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains. This breadth lets it colonise diverse climates across Canada and the U.S.
• The snake's saliva isn't just slick, it's mildly venomous. Specimens from Idaho and Washington delivered venom that caused myonecrotic, or muscle-killing, damage when injected into mouse gastrocnemius muscles. Humans bitten by the wandering garter subspecies in Colorado report only local swelling and edema, never systemic illness. This shows the venom is potent enough to subdue prey but harmless to people, underscoring a specialized hunting tool that poses little risk to us.
• Unlike its garter relatives, this snake actually constricts its prey, though the grip is loose and takes longer than the tight coils of a gopher snake. Colorado populations have honed this technique, killing prey more efficiently than their Pacific Coast cousins. The inefficient, disorganized coils still succeed.
• The western terrestrial garter snake gives birth instead of laying eggs, retaining embryos for a 2-to-3-month gestation before delivering live young. Litters typically contain eight to twelve offspring in late summer, though records show as few as four and as many as nineteen. Larger females produce larger broods, and multiple paternity can boost numbers.
• Coastal garter snakes feast on land-bound prey, earthworms, grubs, caterpillars, crickets, snails, salamanders, baby rodents and lizards, while inland and mountain populations dive for frogs, newts, fish and leeches. The diet is so entrenched that individuals will starve rather than eat unfamiliar food, a trait seen even in newborns, indicating a genetic basis. These stark foraging differences point to micro-evolution within the species, carving distinct ecological niches across its range.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Western Terrestrial Garter Snake

As the warmth of the sun awakens the desert floor, the Western Terrestrial Garter Snake stirs to life, its slender body undulating like a dark, sinuous ribbon as it navigates the rocky outcroppings and scrubby vegetation of its native habitat. With a mesmerizing fluidity, it glides effortlessly across the terrain, its forked tongue darting in and out to taste the air, ever vigilant for the slightest hint of prey. In this arid landscape, the garter snake is a master of stealth and adaptability, its remarkable ability to thrive in this unforgiving environment a testament to its enduring resilience.

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