EVERYTHING you need to know about Garter Snakes!
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- Garter Snake or Garden Snake or Gardner Snake are all common names for the same species: Thamnophis sirtilis. I "explain the how to" od snake identification, whether or not it is a venomous snake, will it bite, and the fun of snake discovery. I explain everything you need to know about garter snakes and you can decided what to do if you want to keep a garter snake pet or what to do with a snake bite. I explain why recent science and biology says garter snakes are technically venomous snakes. But there is minimal concern for a human for this snake bite. The venom from this snake is in its saliva and has to be "chewed" in rather than by a simple bite. The venom of this mildly venomous snake is really only active to subdue a salamander, frog or squigling tadpole so that the snake can move around and swallow it head first while it is numbed or partially paralyzed. These snakes will eat frogs, tadpoles, toads, fish and other invertebrates. They are highly adaptable to different habitats and will eat different things. If you choose to keep a pet garter snake you have many different things you could feed the garter snake. Garter snakes give birth to live young. Garter snakes will den together during the winter and sometimes have masss migrations away from the den. Garter Snakes often act aggressively and will bite repeatedly. A small garter snake will even launch itself completely off the ground in a biting display. Garter snakes will also defend themselves by releasing a very foul smell as a deterent to predation. The bite of a garter snake is more for display then to actually cause any harm. Despite the small amount of venom in their saliva, garter snakes have no fangs, no effective way to deliver venom to a human so they are still considered to be harmless snakes.
I absolutely LOVE these snakes! They're very interactive, VERY easy to care for and maintain, and fun to feed. Used to have a green one roughly ten years ago, her name was Lime, and ALL of my friends (except for my cousin who she DID NOT like at all) had a BLAST handling her. She never bit anyone or tried to lunge out of anyone's hands and she LOVED to slither around peoples shoulders and wiggle around in their hair. When I cleaned her cage and would let her chill on my shoulders and she ALWAYS stayed put and would wrap herself in loops around my necklace and just ride around with me wherever I went, even in public, and she always had her head positioned RIGHT up under my chin to get a good view of everything, I LITERALLY had a snake necklace. She was wild caught and tamed and lived for about 9 years after I caught her before she finally passed away unfortunately.
R.I.P Lime, my beautiful babygirl.
Thanks for sharing your story about a great snake!
Hah. I had one years ago. Likewise she liked to crawl up into my mess of curls and weave herself back and fourth in the warmth and lay her head on my forehead. She just chilled and watched where we were going. She was pretty big for a garder snake. Not quite but close to three. she was the length of my arm.
@@NightwinSeraph Mine got up to 3-ish feet, but I never got her an extra large cage because:
A: The one she had was large enough.
B: I wanted to keep her at a reasonable length without getting that arrowhead-ish shape. She would even regularly poke her little head out of her hut (caught her one morning when I was tossing over but wasn't ready to get up yet) waiting for me to get up to feed/give her fresh water and would ALWAYS come up to the top of her cage to greet me, ESPECIALLY when she saw me (and I know it's actually body heat snakes detect) with a cricket, she would shoot through the plants like a cat jumping through the house when they hear the food bag rattle to get to the cricket well before I even had a chance to drop em in.
@@NightwinSeraph a fabulous snake!
@@scorpioriddick Animals of all kinds are much smarter than most people give them credit for.
My father is a construction worker and many years ago he rescued two garter snakes from the construction site. Sadly one died but the other lived. It was one of the most docile and sweetest snakes I had ever met. You could handle him with ease and it was never aggressive. It loved to eat earthworms and it was so fascinating to watch him devour his meal growing up. He passed away 2 years later. He lived a good life.
Thanks for sharing a great experience with family and snakes!
I think i was in grade 1 when i brought a bucket of 13 garters to school for show and tell. The teacher left the room. Now i live in a place with garters , milk, and grass snakes. There are so many more amazing little friends on our property. I love your video.
Lol...tooooo funny! Love it! And thank you!
@@arleneprobert3627 that’s funny!
Nice
@@arleneprobert3627 I'm admittedly very jealous of you.
Have a bunch of garters around my place in northern Wyoming, and I love 'em! Free, organic, non-toxic, self-propagating biodegradable pest control. There are a couple of nearly 4-footers on our property, so I know they can get that big. I often pick up one or two on a chilly morning and warm them in my hands before laying them somewhere toasty. Never had one bite, and they seem to be one of the friendlier species...although I have been "skunked" by a couple that didn't know I was helping them!
Hey Noahmercy! You have a great attitude about snakes. Cool how big they get your way. There seems to be a lot of variation in their disposition.
Ya, they can put out a stink
One of my favorite snakes are black racers
Here in fl our garters are pretty fat actually and will flatten out to resemble a viper and their bite can be painful compared yo a racer, it feels almost like a crushig bite it's strong basically
@@spfein from Arizona. My favorite is rattlesnakes. They’re kind enough to give you a warning
I'm always on the lookout for them whilst cutting the grass. I love having them around and hate hurting the little guys.
Running over a snake with a lawn mower is such a bad feeling.
Sometimes you can't help it. Timing and movements are unpredictable.
Apparently those I observed on a woodland property were giants. They could easily eat small rodents, particularly the juveniles (rodents). 3 feet long or more.
when I was a kid, with my dad in vermont, I would do my best to get all of the snakes out of the yard before he would mow, and while he was mowing I would beat the grass in front of the mower in case I missed any. and not just snakes, but whatever other little critters that would hang out in the grass out in the country...
It was great that your daughter was telling your grandson that, though these creatures are beautiful, you shouldn’t handle them without supervision. Wild animals need space and respect, no matter size
True.
I remember being afraid of snakes, but was helped by a girl in 1st and 2nd grade, C. Lambert - I have always been grateful to her for that, and she inspired me to help others defeat their fear of snakes. Wherever she is: thank you!
C. LAMBERT = SUPERHERO!!😀
I once saw a garter snake that had cloudy eyes, sunning itself on a pile of mulch. It didn’t respond to me moving my hand in front of it, and I thought it had cataracts or some sort of eye disease. I later learned that snakes’ eyes appear cloudy when they are starting to molt.
Exactly! :-)
Garden snake might qualify as an Egg-corn
@@Echo3_ it's "Garter" NOT "Garden" did you not learn anything from the video? 😮
@@shaolinfox30 no… read it again and google the Phrase “Egg corn” 🙄
As a kid, I kept several as pets for an entire summer, and let them go in the fall. One time I found an unusual brightly colored one, that was easily 24 inches long. It was the typical blackish, but had very vivid red, yellow, and green coloring. I kept that one as a pet for about three years in an indoor aquarium, feeding it night crawlers from the bait shop. Another time I found this tiny snake (about 7 inches long) in my yard, and when I went to pick it up, it started buzzing it's tail like a rattler. I live in Illinois (far south Chicago area) and nobody believed that area had rattlers. Well...I phoned a biologist at a local university and she was VERY interested to see this. Turned out to be a baby female Kansas Massasauga (Pigme Rattlesnake)
Oh noooooooooo! oh my gosh! LOL...glad the outcome was in your favor ! amazing!
How did it end up that far north? Someone had to release it.
@@actionjksn Massasauga is a species of rattlesnake.They are not a Pigmy Rattlesnake that’s a whole other species.Massasauga species have eastern and western.The eastern goes all the way to Canada locations are all around the great lakes.
Only good snake is a dead snake 🐍
@@actionjksn lol what? We have them up here in Canada too. All the way up the Niagara escarpment hours north of Toronto where there’s still prolly some snow in mid April
When I was a teen my dad had a neatly stacked pile of bricks right next to an open meadow with a piece of sheet metal covering it. Perfect hunting grounds for snakes and a nice cozy hideout. I'd figured out quite fast that I could just pull up the tin and pick snakes off the top of the brick pile. At first the would all scurry away but as I made my daily round and started bringing earthworm snacks, fight nor flight were seen as attractive prospects! By mid summer I had them eating out of my hand and I could just casually grab one from the pile. My go to strategy at first though was to just catch them by the tail and scoot them off to an open area like the lawn and put my other hand just out of reach in front of them. If they flattened their bodies to make themselves look big and and try to lunge for a bite I would bail out, but 9/10 times that didn't happen so I just gingerly picked them off the ground and usually within a minute of being handled they get that no harm is going to happen and that actually chilling there at optimal body temperature is just perfect they get really tame!!
What great memories...thanks for sharing! More kids today need to grow up like this!
I just showed my son about what he called a "Gardner " snake and your channel showed up. You have a great way of teaching and your pleasant to listen to. God bless.
Thanks and welcome to my channel. I hope you two will check out my playlists for other videos to enjoy and watch together!
Coincidently, my son's family just moved and on his wife's first walk a fully grown garter snake slid over her foot and stopped. She sent pictures.
Forty five years ago I was a policeman stopped in traffic. I walked to the front of the line and there was the biggest garter snake I've ever seen stretched across the road. I scooped him up and put him in the back of my car to release in a safe place. He was completely calm.
It's the only time I got a round of applause for doing cop stuff.
😃 thanks for sharing!
God bless you!
You were never a cop.
@@marcialsantiago8383 lol, and you "know" this because.......🙄 Why do you even care? Dude was definitely a cop and has zero reason to lie....or to care if you believe him or not. Weird comment from you lol
@@amyfmc1 I've read this idiots page. Any police officer would have better intel than this idiot.
I love your tone of love and respect for these lovely creatures
Thank you so much. That means a lot to me! I hope you will enjoy my channel.
My wife and I recently moved to the USA from the UK (where there are basically no snakes and you almost never see one in the wild). During a recent walk we came face to face with one of these guys and safe to say we both thought we were gonna die haha. Great video! Wish I found it sooner... :P
Ha! And no snakes at all in 🇮🇪 ireland right? Glad this was helpful!
@@natureatyourdoor yes I think pretty much all those of islands are snake free!
lol ... ah, the great fear. Welcome to the US and fear not the snake. You only need to be wary of those with very defined triangular heads, vipers and the coral snake [Red on yellow kill a fellow. Red on black friend of Jack.] While this is Very simplified it will give a place to start until you become acclimated to the wild life in the area you live.
Welcome!
What state are you in? I’ll tell you if you have any danger noodles to look out for.
@@williamsporing1500 hey William we are on Massachusetts. Aswell as danger noodles are there anything else that can kill us roaming around local hiking trails? Haha bears or anything else?
Caught them all the time when I was a kid growing up in Connecticut. I can vouch for them biting with super Velcro like teeth. Little bite marks, little blood and I survived to tell the tale. The reason you end up leaving them alone is their defensive stink that you could hardly wash away. Strong, potent and gross
very potent!
The teeth in the front and along the edges of their mouth are called egg teeth (due to their use when it's time to leave their eggs), but in the very rear of their mouths are two very small fangs (one on each side), when they bite onto their prey, they will work their jaws back and forth in order to achieve maximum envenomation by working it in. Hognose snakes are another snake in the Colubridae family that are also rear-fanged venomous, with slightly larger fangs and a bit more potent venom. There is a video, here on YT, of a Hognose named "pissy" (because of her lovely disposition lol) who bit the hand of a friend of the owner and it swelled pretty good. She got him good! But their venom is medically insignificant to humans unless there is a rare allergy.
That was kind of a requirement growing up in CT if you didn’t live in the city.
Colchester, Salem, Lebanon S, Glastonbury
@@kennethhigdon1159 Middletown middlefield, Durham, lots of dairy farms and huge old abandoned chicken coops
While trimming ferns above my stone wall, I found a Garter snake and 2 baby Copperheads. I left them alone to get on with their lives. I like sharing my yard with snakes. Love snakes!
Wow! And you are a nature SAINT!
Snake bite hospital costs as I understand it now can come in at anywhere in six digits. Some venomous snake bites are dry, you can concider yourself lucky and wont have a large hospital bill. You are correct in your snake saving. I have rattlesnakes and cottonmouths. While people all around here kill every snake they see, I catch the venomous ones and relocate them from my living area. When N America becomes overun with mice, rats and politicians, the latter two being indistingusable sometimes, I think we should point to the lack of natural enemies of these varments...our friends the snakes. Another problem I have known of since childhood, is religion. Snakes get a bad rap from Catholicism. The "HOLY BIBLE" in many instances portrays EVIL as manifesting itself in serpents. I have finally figured out that the worst EVIL in our world is religion with it's holy bible horror stories. Religion I believe gave us government. I was indoctrinated in Catholicism for 13 years of elementary and high school. That's another story. Yes venomous snakes can cause pain and loss of a limb, so never get a surgeon, get an internal medicine doctor if bitten (someone who doesnt want to amputate). Better yet stay away from all snakes they are here to control some vermin. Let them do their job, I have never known anyone personally who was bitten by a venomous snake. Please do not kill snakes, the DEVIL is not in them nor does the devil exist. They do not want to bite you, that's their only defense. A snakes venom is precious to its survival. Why should some idiot want to show off and get bitten doing so, unless they want to actually show what a real stupid person is.
👏
You can have mine. If you are a snake and your in my yard...you are a decapitated snake.
Yea.fool go to see bite victim of copperhead. Bites. .then wait for your turn. To go for antivenom
One of these little guys got into our house here in Washington state a few years ago. Scared the hell out of my son, but I knew what kind of snake it was, and just caught him and put him back out in our yard. I think they're lovely little fellows, I love their soft colors and markings. Thank you for this lovely video. Surprised to learn that they're venomous! The little guy I caught and released never tried to bite me.
Mildly venomous and not to humans of course! Thanks for sharing your story!
So you basically just reach down and pick them up? I had one in my basement this morning. I'd guess maybe 2 feet long and not quite as thick as my thumb at it's thickest, and my pinky finger at it's thinner sides. I didn't know anything about snakes, so I killed it. Thought it might be a threat to my cats. But now that I'm seeing all these videos, people describing them as cute, etc I feel guilty about killing the thing. How do you catch it? The one I had was real fast.
OMG how haven't I run into your channel, it's so delightful and I love your style!
So glad you found me! I am still working at getting my presence known! Please share!
They are very abundant in my neighborhood and I've always been curious about them. Thank you Frank for another great video.
You are most welcome my friend Beth!
He was so photogenic, he threw so many poses and postures for you!
Ha! Yes, he did! Lol!
Hi Frank! 👋 love seeing these guys in my garden! Thanks for the great info & the great pictues of this snake! Very very interesting!
So glad you appreciate them in your garden Judy!
I used to love catching them when I was kid. I tried keeping one as a pet once when I was around 9 or 10. The next day I was at school and called down to the office. On the way to the office I was trying to think of what I had done wrong. Well my Mom had called the school and told them that I needed to come home immediately!! So I ran home to find out what was going on. When got there my Mom was standing on the couch holding a broom obviously scared. Before I could ask what was going on she started yelling at me "catch that damn thing and get it out of the house"! Apparently it had crawled over her foot when she was in the kitchen lol. After a couple of hours I finally found it and released it in the back yard. That was the first and only time I tried to keep one. Looking back I'm glade it got out and was forced to release it because it probably would have died. I had no idea on how to care for it.
OMG! Omg! I am still laughing ...best story ever!!!!!! Thank you for sharing and brightening the day for all of us! LOLOLOLOL!
Loved this video! I recently moved to California and have been researching wildlife and discovered the beautiful San Francisco garter snake and wanted to learn more about this species snd other subspecies of the garter. I learned a lot from this episode.
So cool! Awesome to hear from you! I will have to look up that species! Have you checked out my reptile and amphibian playlist? I think you will really like it!
A friend brought me a 40" garter snake (because I collected snakes - then released them.) She had 45 babies, most of which had the membranous sac, while others also had a yolk sac.) Most found - to the utter delight of the parents 😅 - a home with other kids. My name after that was something unprintable. I was a teenager.
I caught a second female the next year, and she gave us 49 babies. Amazing how fast they grow!
I suspect that more survived than would have if left in the wild, as they're easy prey for box tortoises, larger snakes, birds and skunks...and more. At least they likely had a head start!
Wow! That is really fantastic!
Baby snakes are generally more defensive because they are food for everything! That attitude protects them. Most garter snakes won't bite if handled gently. Their musk is usually enough. Lots of encounters and lots of experience including keeping them as pets. For those interested in keeping snakes: Garters do very well in shared enclosures, where most snakes you would house separately. As a matter of fact they thrive better if they are not alone and if you have babies, you will need to remove them but keep two to three together so they will eat. They will need to start on small earth worms and bits of fish ( do not feed goldfish). They will eat many things and need a varied diet. I do not mean to be rude or contradictive but I do believe it's only one small niche of garters that are poisonous (and that is in a particular area in Oregon where a certain newt or salamander, I believe, lives) the rest of your garden variety of garter snakes are what we in the "hobby" call rearfanged venomous (they gnaw on food to work the venom in) which in most species is so very mild and harmless to people that are not allergic to that specialized saliva. The reason I say most is that we are always discovering new species of animals and we know of one rearfanged colubrid that is is very deadly if you're bitten but they are not native to the US, the Boomslang. Garter snakes make great pets and will not musk, when they know they are safe. The wild caught ones I have handled have not musked nor bitten, but I live far from NY so they might be a more layed back subspecies. There are a large variety of garter snakes, some are absolutely gorgeous. Some are so protected that you can't even touch them. They are such an important part of any ecosystem you find them in, that's why they have such a great range and variety. Oh! To clarify, venom is a toxin that has to be injected in your system, and poison is a toxin that is ingested (inhaled or absorbed by contact). That might help clear up the confusion as we talk about poison vs venom). I will remove this comment if you prefer.
Hi! This is great! Thanks for detailed information! I love learning more, clarifying facts and details and deepening my own understanding. It is funny the variation in aggressiveness as well. The one I handled was never aggressive...never musked...others I have interacted with would bite repeatedly or bite and chew! Fascinating! Thanks for sharing!
Here in Kansas where I live, we have alot of the red-checkered Garter Snakes. They really are beautifully colored. There's also ALOT of ribbon snakes that can range from red striped to bright yellow striped. Lots of snakes out here in the country in central Kansas!!
Your central Kansas snakes are decidedly more beautiful then ours! The color variations of brown and yellow here always seem dull or muted. Thanks for sharing...love learning about regional morphologiez from viewers around the country!
These snakes are Awesome! I had one for about 6 years, it's name was "Primus", after the band, Hehe.. This snake I rescued after being attacked, His tail was bitten off. About 2 foot in the end and the circumfrence of a hotdog. I nursed him back to health. Primus did show affection to me, and was semi inteligent. He was cool and I miss him very much! He was a Weastern Terestrial Garder, and quite old. Primus Loved Gold fish in his water bowel and pinky mice. He even ate a VERY baby gerbal once.
These are Wonderful creatures! Even My Mother liked him, and she does not like snakes.. She would let Primus wrap around her tea cup in the morning sometimes.
These snakes can smell Musky!
As far as venome goes.. Primus only bit me once and it just felt like sand paper, but my finger got a bit numb for a few minutes..
Tese are Great snakes for a novis, which I still am as I do not plan on having a snake again.. But they are Wonderful creatures all the same. 🙂
A GREAT Beginner snake for Sure! They are very cute and sweet! BTW.. He only bit me by accident whild trying to bite onto a pinky mouse, not out of defence.
I once caught a baby Garter, and let him go of course.. He was so small and CUTE! The head of these snakes are very identifiable as well as their beautiful eyes! These snakes are like the Jumping Spiders of the snake world = Really Cute and kind of intelligent as they are inquisitive of their surroundings!
Hi! Thanks for sharing your wonderful story of your experience with garter snakes! Your "comment" enriches the learning channel experience for both viewers and me! 🙂
This is the first video I've seen of your channel that came around on suggestions.
My husband and I are in Northern PA not far from the NY border. We both watched you today. We have always had our encounters with garter snakes. They are feisty. Haha. We learned some new things here today. Thank you!
You are welcome! Glad you discovered my channel! Check out my playlists for more topics that might interest you! Welcome to Nature at Your Door!
I was taught from a young age that Garter Snakes were non venomous. About 10 years ago I became aware of the possibility that I had been taught wrong. When I would mention this or inform others that they were in fact venomous. I was ridiculed, laughed at, anything but taken serious. Now that this information is becoming more available to the general public, it gives me some sense of vindication. I owe my thanks to videos such as this.
I was skeptical of this since I had always considered Garter Snakes as being non venomous. But that skepticism completely disappeared after I witnessed a Garter Snake catch and consume a large Bullfrog. The fight was on at first. The Garter Snake only had the frog by its back left leg. The frog was taking the snake on a wild ride with its one free jumping leg. But the snake held on and was able to work its way up on the frogs leg into a better grip. It wasn’t long after the snake started chewing on the frog’s leg, the frog became very docile. It was like it was no longer concerned that it was being ate. I also witnessed how snakes instinctively know how to deflate puffed up frogs. It amazed me that the frog had become so sedated and never once fought for its survival after the snake was able to chew on its leg. It was very obvious that something more was at play, that something had taken over the instinctive flight or fight response of the frog.
One thing of not. This snake consumed the frog tail first, not head first as the man in the video mentions. I found this to be at odds with what I had been taught. After further research I found that this was very common For Garter Snakes.
Hi Timothy! ya know what...I got critized like you on some nature facebook groups for just the same. One guy kept commenting it wasnt true and he had known this all his life...I was like ..wow...just google it my friend!
Thank you so much for your first hand report and observations on the garter snake eating the frog! That was really fascinating to learn/hear. I will need to ammend my video in the future on the information you shared. Thanks so much for taking the time to tell that story!
I did not know about the venom till I watched this video. I live in Michigan, and several years back I found a feeding Garter Snake while camping. We were having breakfast and kept hearing this repeating "meep" sound. We found the snake feeding (tail first) on a frog. The "meep" was the cry of the distressed frog. The snake took off like a shot into the woods with frog in mouth. It was something to see. I always wondered why the frog was so docile. I have two corn snakes and they are constrictors and I know how that works. Been bit too!
Same for me . It's kinda sad when people want to be wrong more then they want to be right. I would tell people to Google it then come back and tell me I'm wrong .
Had a new neighbor move in next door a few months ago, and coincidentally for some reason this spring we've seen more snakes on our property than we have in the last 20 years combined. We found out that the new neighbor had killed a couple because she heard they were venomous, and I thought she was nuts. So now I know she's not nuts, just seriously over reactive. I've always handled them with gloves because I know they do bite, but was more concerned about about an infected puncture wound than venom
I should note that there venom is not toxic to humans. It’s prey specific. And it’s means of delivery
make it unlikely for a human to be envenomated. They are considered rear fanged and have to chew the venom in. There’s very few documented cases of human being envenomated and I believe only one of those resulted in any medical issues. But that was determined to be due to an allergic reaction to the venom.
Thanks Frank, like always a great presentation on another great species of reptile.
Thank you so much Donald! That means a lot to me!
Great video! Very informative and educational. I just want to say is that I definitely learned something new from your video, I had no idea that Garter Snakes had a mild neurotoxin ,that definitely is quite interesting. I want to just say thank you for your knowledge,understanding and appreciation for these amazing animals. I look forward to seeing your future videos down the road 😊👍🤘
Back when i was a kid, i was walking in the woods by the railroad tracks one cold winter day. There was patches of snow on the ground and i found one of these snakes. He was blue but not frozen and probably dead. I didn't think at that time to put him in my coat pocket for a while and maybe save his life. I have always wondered what brought that little guy out into the snow.
Yes! That is very unusual! Thanks for sharing your story!
@@natureatyourdoorI’ve found one in snow also but it was a warm spring day. A snake wouldn’t be able to move during winter months. They get their energy from heat.
Garder snakes can survive extremely cold weather. I have found them swimming under the ice in yhe winter time.
That's a wild tale, where and what month?
I have a colony of them living under my garage slab in Minnetonka Minnesota and just learned that dormouse coexist in the same space, yet my African house snake escaped and caught one of the dormouse that dwell in my house, they're harmless and cute, regular house mice I kill
Great videos. My uncle used to live in Goshen and I'm from Monticello so I liked that you were in Orange County lol
You are welcome! I actually live in Floyd County and taught and coached at Radford High School since 1984
Subscribed immediately! Love nature, big snake fan, lots of red sided garters in Ontario, and I have a big female, affectionally called Big Mamma, who lives under my dry brush pile in my back yard in the summer. Once had the privilege of seeing Mamma give birth to a couple of dozen of the cutest little reptiles I’d ever seen! Perfect copies of Mom, but only 4-6 inches long. Such nice snakes!
Welcome to NAYD Linda! I am fascinated by your red-sided garter snakes in Ontario! Cool! I am going to need to plan a van-build camper van road trip up there to see them!
@@natureatyourdoor Get your wheels on the road and visit beautiful Ontario! Bit cool here this week, but I expect Big Mamma will be keeping my yard safe again this summer. She’s a true beauty!
I absolutely love your style of presentation on this channel! I just subscribed
Thank you so much! Welcome to my channel! Check out my playlists for more topics that you might find interesting...and I am always available to answer questions!
What a great video! I found you when doing some basic searches for my own garter snakeball video. I enjoyed your presentation so much, I shared your video link in my own video description. I found your relaxed, cheerful and anecdotal narration style inspirational. I look forward to watching some more of your videos soon. Thank you for sharing your joy!
Awe! Thank you so much! Your comments mean the world to me! I put an enormous amount of time and energy into my channel. Comments like yours makes it all worthwhile
..many times over! Please enjoy exploring my channel...I try to bring valuable content to every video!
I definitely learned things I didn't know about garter snakes. I steer clear of any snakes, though!! Thanks for teaching!!
You are welcome! Trying to deliver rich content in every video I do!
They steer clear of YOU, as well.
Just saying. 😆😬🙈
They're such pretty little things. I have never handled one before, but I've always enjoyed seeing them dart through the grass. Amazing creatures.❤
Yes they are!
What a great show you have! I look forward to watching more episodes now that I'm subscribed!
Welcome aboard! Thank you! Check out my playlist for particular topics you might be interested in!
I used to play with these as a child. I lived in a tiny (80 people) town in the middle of nowhere. We had an old prairie church up on the hill overlooking our town. These guys used to sun themselves on the grave stones. They’d let me handle them and never once showed any aggression. I wasn’t even aware that they do the musk thing. I loved these guys as a child, and wish I had land to nurture some now.
Thanks for sharing. I wish more kids today were outside experiencing the outdoors like you did.
When nothing else is out, the garters save the day. Great info in this one, Frank. Know a few folks who've had an allergic reaction to a garter snake bite. Nothing life-threatening, just some swelling in the bite area. Here in AZ we have a couple of unique garters, the narrow-headed and Mexican. Both are protected and only reside in small areas within AZ. We're hoping to stumble across them in a few weeks. Can't touch, only observe.
Ha! Right?oooh I would love to see the narrow headed garter snake!
Always great to hear from you smetlogik!
@@natureatyourdoor We'll see how that goes.
garter snakes have no teeth
@@edwardjack3659 I'm going to go out on a limb and say you've never caught a garter snake before.
My father ran a camp in upstate Pennsylvania when I was a kid. The sunny side of the lake always had garders sunning. We would disturb them by walking the path. We'd see a pile of them slither to the water edge. A cool sight to see.
They also had a nature house. Every year they would collect the different things around the camp and care for them as they were displayed.
A cool thing to see.
Very 😎!
This is the ONLY snake that has ever bitten me. My big brother, (WAY back in the 60s) had picked up a garter snake in our yard, but instead of picking it up behind the head, which we were taught, he picked it up by the tail. So I went to grab it properly, the little bugger nails me, draws blood. Ugh. Still irks me.
Mildly amusing, many years later, one of my sweet Corn Snakes decided to start chewing on my brother's elbow eliciting an "Umm, have you fed him lately?"
Actually pretty fun. And yes, he was well fed.😊😊
I have always loved snakes. Growing up I remember garter snakes were black with red and yellow stripes. I find them all the time while working and now they come in a wide variety of colors. Recently a coworker found one and was about to throw it in a garbage truck. I stopped him and took a picture of the snake. When I was focusing on the snake to snap the picture I noticed it had a triangular head; I told my coworker because of the shape of the head, and its body shape, it might be a venomous snake. The snake was only about a foot long, too young to show any rattle. We released it in some vegetation along the road.
I sent the picture to a buddy and his dad said he thought it was a mississauga (sp)? Rattlesnake. I’ve heard of these but I know they are quite rare around here.
I felt lucky to have come across one!
alot of snakes will flatten their heads and force them into a triangle shape to deter predators. See my juvenile black snake video where they will do this! thanks for sharing your experience here!
Brook Miller... where do you live? I found a 7" baby in my yard (I live in far south Chicago area)
Excellent video, Frank! Rear-fanged Venomous species are so awesome. Local species like Garters and Hognoses have non-medically significant venom. However, the Boomslang, that is found in Southern Africa, is also Rear-fanged Venomous, and it has extremely toxic Venom that is dangerous to humans.
Yes. Very cool! I think the garter snakes lack even the rear fangs, too. Which is why they bite then chew on prey to get saliva to soak in. Thanks so much for your support! It means a lot to me! Btw...on,my way now to cape may to tag horsecrabs on Delaware Bay with american littoral society. Canoe in the black waters of pine barrens..,we'd night stop at Kent island to see a friend! We need to herp together and collab on a video soon!
@@natureatyourdoor I'm looking forward to that! I live about 45 minutes from Kent Island.
Well here in the United States 🇺🇸 we have a rear fanged extremely venomous snake 🐍 red touches yellow dangerous fellow the Coral Snake 🐍 MAGA Make Animals Great Again 👍
When I was a young child I had both Garter and Hognose snakes as PETS. This was mostly if you didnt squeeze, etc. them, they would never ever bite, as especially in the cool early spring they seemed to revel being handled with warm hands. Now as an oldster, I build rock mounds in my gardens, just so that they can keep busy eating the young toads and snails that are there; and, as a place to den for the winter. Most interesting is that infrequently, a young copperhead or milk snake (beautiful) will join them for the winter hibernation.
@@mikeyatkins8583 I believe the coral snakes are elapids, not colubrids.
Thank you! I'm trying to overcome my snake phobia and this really helped
Check out my black snake videos too..black snake defenses..evetything you need to know about black snakes. People with snake phobias have told me those have been very helpful as well.
Ditto! 😳👍
My wife was afraid of snakes before we got married- my love of all animals kind of helped her get through this BUT the thing that helped the most as having children that loved snakes. Mom eventually got over her fear, she’ll even hold one but usually only if she’s helping a grand hold one.
I have 2 pet garters
Koya is a Florida blue checkered , 1 year and 2 days old
Karina is his GF. She's a granite grey checkered, with gorgeous bright yellow striping.
I can confirm these are amazing snakies. Such personalities!!
Love seeing someone talk good about them!!
Beautiful snakes Jaxie!
Love these videos, glad I stumbled upon them. Almost every Garter Snake I’ve run across have been either pretty aggressive or have fled. They are a beautiful little snake. Thanks for the videos.
Hi Gwynn! Welcome to my channel! I hope you will check out my playlists for more topics that might interest you!
I don't remember if I shared this story on another of your videos.
Back in the 1980's I was one of those people who collected wild snakes for captivity, (I'm more evolved now), I used to hang around with like minded people. ANYWAY, this occurred around Daytona Beach, near where I lived and worked at the time.
I was visiting a friend who had a lot of snakes. He'd just collected a very vibrant Eastern Garter Snake and had it in a ten gallon aquarium by the front door.
A girl we knew, dropped by and he showed her the snake. . She opened the tank and pulled the snake out and of course, being a Garter Snake, it bit her on the hand. And as Garter Snake bites generally do, it bled profusely.
A minute or two later she said she was having problem breathing. Her face was swelling and we had to call an ambulance.
She ended up spending a few days in the hospital, it was determined she had an anaphylactic reaction to the bite.
I tell that as a cautionary tale to people. Even though we say that snakes like Garter Snakes, Water Snakes and a few others are "Harmless"... they aren't necessarily. And while dramatic reactions would be an extremely rare thing it's prudent to know it can happen.
Wow! Quite the cautionary tale! Thanks for sharing with me, other viewers and enriching this channel experience for all! I always look forward to your comments and insight.
You can get allergy tested.
ENT surgeons & other physicians complete these testings.
So it isn't as if you have to be bitten in order to find out.
Just to mention...💜
What an unusual reaction. Unfortunately she could react that way to anything, pure luck that it was a snake bite.
Yep, I have seen them come out of hibernation once. It was at a local cemetery, and they were coming up from under someone's vault. Saw a couple hundred emerge before I got too freaked out and took off.
Oh wow! Best garter snake story ever! Legendary.... just wow! Raiders of the lost ark style!
I used to see them as in cemeteries when we were kids but I didn't want to say anything.
Lovely video. Appreciate how you went into detail about why Garter Snakes have these traits and describing their lifestyle and adaptability. Subscribed! ❤
Glad you enjoyed it! And welcome to my channel! I hope you will ck out my playlists and find more great content I think you will enjoy!
I found a few garters under my shed and wanted to know how to respond. Thanks for providing such informative videos and for doing it so joyfully!
You are welcome! I did enjoy sharing this one
This was a most interesting video. I used to catch garter snakes as a kid in upper New York at a private school. Never had a nervous thought about it. Live in Alabama now and have seen quite a number of different snakes such as moccasins, copperheads, and one garter snake that was huge. Not sure how big they can get but this garter was over 3 feet long. Thanks for such an informative video.
Sounds like the south has some big garter snakes based on what I have learned from viewer comments!
Thanks for sharing your observations and experience!
Great video. I am always scooping garters for a quick viewing when working all over B.C. Canada. Tons of variation over the 3 subs I see. Vivid red/ylw/black to light checker board to almost entirely black. And some big one approaching 3.5 ft over the years. Subscribed.
Hi DPG! Wow...way way cool for me to learn about variation in garter snakes in BC! The vivid red is just wow!! Thanks for sharing with me and viewers! Enriches the experience for all! Welcome to my channel and thanks for subscribing. I hope you will check out my other repetile and amphibian videos and compare to BC! I know you have wood frogs!
Ahhh, I always thought "red to yellow, kill the fellow"
Maybe I mis-read?
(Red to yellow,
kill the fellow.
Red to black,
venom lack.)
Also...
Red to black,
friend to Jack
1st time viewer.
Thank you for an excellent video.
You are welcome and thank you so much!!! I am still excited about slowly...people are discovering my channel! I hope you will enjoy exploring it and check out my playlists for more that might interest you!
Wow!!! I had no darn idea these little guys were some what venomous. Great video, sir. Look forward to the next one.
More to come, of course! Check out my snake playlist if you enjoyed this one for more right now. They are still not really venomous to humans but more so for frog/amphibian prey as they are chewed on to swallow! 😀
Awesome! Great post! Got me thinking the garter snake population on our place is.... well I haven't seen one now in a very long time.
I use to sit with my dogs for a few minutes on the ground by their house daily and be amused that the same non aggressive garter snake would slip out from beneath the dog house with each visit and curl up within 3 feet enjoying the warmth of the sun and light shade along with me and the dogs. I would say hello garter snake how r u today.
I enjoyed and looked forward to his greeting. Today that old dog house is gone so are the dogs...looking back I believe surely o'le Garter must have enjoyed the comradery too!
Very cool to be able to peacefully comune with wildlife like that! Very special. Thanks for sharing with me!
@@natureatyourdoor No sir I thank you kindly!
And ty 4 the fellowship!
I had one just yesterday in my Virginia garden. I'm sure they're all over the place but I really don't see them much (nor am I really looking for them). The
most common snake I have is the black snake, which there are many here and they get to be quite large! I see a copperhead occasionally...
I have mostly ring necks around my house in virginia. All my life hiking and looking for herps I have yet to see a copperhead in the wild!
I did enjoy this episode. And I learned a lot about this critter. That's some fascinating stuff!
Glad you enjoyed it my friend! Always fun for me to recognize and get to know my viewers! Thanks for kind words and checking in with me. Makes it all worthwhile!
Snakes are a wonderful creation. Beautiful. Great job on the info
Thank you kindly!
They can be quite aggressive and nippy, that may be where the saying, "meaner than a striped snake" came from. I got bitten by a big Garter snake once while removing it from the road so it wouldn't get hit. The bite site bled profusely.
I have people troll me for saying they bite. Lol! Yes they do!
@@natureatyourdoor Funny story ...I too, never thought Garters bite, until I handed one to my young son and told him after he asked "does it bite" ? ...No ....Then it happened
Very common all around me. Rather variable in color. I’ve caught ones that have very strong lateral stripes to ones that have a good amount of orange to very dark and I even caught one that looked like it was dusted with silver. They love to eat worms and especially frogs. I came across a mating ball a few springs ago where there was a large female with at least a half dozen male suitors.
Fascinating....especially finding the mating snakes...once in a life time! Just wow!
Didn't know they got down like that! Did one of them have a tiny video camera?
I have them with orange stripes, yellow stripes and green stripes.
“I’m not scared at all” 💗💗love that girl! And love that only Pops holds snakes!
Lololol! " I am brace"! ❤❤❤❤❤
Enjoyed it very much. Learned something new about a creature encountered 50 years ago and scared to death. Thank you for educating me on their biology.
You are welcome! I try to bring that to every episode! Check out my playlists for more topics that might interest you!
I frequently find baby garter snakes on one area of the patio after it rains. I guess they go up there to get out of the water that fills up their holes in the woods.
We have picked them up and held them all of our lives without any problem. Have never had a bite. I suppose that if you get them upset that they may become aggressive. Never torment a living creature.
We have seen some garters that are well over a foot long. They look like they could eat a small mouse. They are good bug eaters.
Don’t say bad things about the garter snake. The snake haters already kill every one of them that they find. They are useful creatures and people should not let their fear get the best of them.
They may reproduce well but birds and the woodland creatures pick off the babies pretty quickly.
I do a lot of snake advocacy videos and my 40 year message is to not fear snakes and not kill them on site. I understand what you are saying. Garter snakes are funny about biting..the one in video was very gentle...but most of my 40 yr experience has been with nippy garter snakes. See comment from Willswalkingwest. Please check out my other snake videos and see if I don't do them justice.
I handle snakes in the wild ( and let them go on their way) all the time. I’ve held everything from garter snakes to coral snakes, and I have never had any problems. Snakes only bite when they are feeling defensive. If they are acting defensive( striking or vibrating their tails), don’t pick them up. We don’t have any highly aggressive species ( cobras, Mambas, and several Australian species) here in the U.S.
@@Mycomagician420 very true. I do same. Snakes certainly have different personalities even within the same species. I too find it fascinating to beable to pick up a snake and feel it calm and make that remarkable connection with a wild animal . Lol...yup..i don't force it! If they make it clear to me I leave them on their way. I don't like getting bitten either! Lol.
@@Mycomagician420 bull plop I have been chased by a rattlesnake, and how about the water moccasins they can be very aggressive
@@Quackerstacker1973 nope Rattlesnakes would chase you but they can bite without Rattling
I had a friend from China and we were hiking around a small lake near Lake Tahoe. I picked up a 2-foot garter snake just behind the head to show to my friend. To my surprise the snake wrapped around my arm and defecated a white pasty substance that stank to high heaven. Now I pick up king snakes, bull snakes, and gopher snakes, but I leave the garter snakes alone.
yes... and you can never get that smell off.... masterful result of evolution!
Beautiful! It’s the beginning of April now here in Canada so I’m hoping to come across one! Many thanks for what you do because I just adore nature ❤😊😊😊😊
Hi Teenamiller! Always great to hear from you! Let me know when the garter snakes emerge there!
That is a most photogenic little garter, and so calm!
I know right? never had a photo shoot with a more beautiful or cooperative model! LOL!
Garter snakes are one of my favourite snake species. They are so underrated as pets (captive bred, of course) and, because they are so common, often dismissed as 'just a garter snake' when found in the wild. One of my favourite things about them is their social nature - they are one of the very few social snake species, not only brumating in groups, but also forming close bonds with one or two other snakes they will roam with. Studies have shown that when separated for extended periods, they will immediately reform those partnerships when re-introduced and will even integrate the 'lost' friend into partnerships with other snakes they developed while separated. Snakes with best friends...how cool is that?
Way cool. Thanks for sharing this!
This is amazing! There’s so much to learn about nature! New sub to both channels!
@@sandrastreifel6452 welcome to nature at your door! Glad to have you!
Wow I didn't know that....thank you!
Not well known that when garter snakes are threatened they’re capable of biting sarcasm.
Aagggghhhh. Lol.😁
Lovely video, my good chap! Neat little snakes.
Thank you Catfish107!
Awesome video!!! I’m subscribed!
Thank you so much Cindy. Welcome to my channel! :-)
Love having snakes in my garden! Wish I had more. But wish you didn't tell people they have venom! People will freak out and start killing them. I was on a service day at my church working on clearing an area for a therapeutic riding horse ranch when someone yelled they saw a snake. Second comment was from a man looking for something to kill it with. Me being the animal lover I am saved the snake and gave a small lession on what kind of snake it was, what it really ate and that it was good to have in a garden. It was just a gopher snake. It was early in the morning and a bit chilly for the snake to even be active. It was real easy to catch and would have had no chance of survival being killed by a shovel! Of course all the children couldn't wait to touch it while I held it safely and many other women thought it was gross! The ranch owner had me set it free on the grounds of a plant nursery next to them. The next day I was featured on the church big screen as "The Snake Lady" a title I was proud of by the way! We need to take the opportunity to teach people to respect all kinds of animals whenever we can. Thank you for teaching us. Your channel is one of the best!
Yes!!!! 100% Thank you, snake lady, may you have more oppertunities to give little lessons and save snakes, even through education.
Thank you so much. Yeah..it is a tough call ..i understand what you are saying about not telling people. I just believe in educating people the best I can! Thanks for sharing with me and other viewers and enriching this experience!
I'm terrified of all snakes. I can't believe you are holding that thing in your hand.
Ha! I am terrified of spiders. Absolute comfort with snakes. 😀
Just one of God's lil creatures that wasn't given legs.😊
Great video! That snake was so calm and friendly. 🐍
Calmest garter snake I ever handled. Very trusting!
Thank you for educating us on these cute little snakes!! ❤❤❤
You are welcome! 🙂
Very interesting. I love snakes and I don't allow snakes to be killed on my property. ANY snakes. We have rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, coral snakes, and loads of harmless snakes in my area. Whenever I come across a snake in the road I will always try to move it out of the road. I've watched people purposely run them over and even shoot them.
You have admirable nature ethics that embraces all organisms. I stopped to move a black snake in the road and a truck swerved at me then ran the snake over right in front of me! Smh.
@@natureatyourdoor I know exactly what you mean. I love all creatures. My mother got a baby Burmese python for Xmas in 1987. And we all loved him dearly. Snakes are such beautiful creatures and so misunderstood, just like sharks.
I live right by a nature trail and I got bit pretty badly by one of these. It wasn’t the worst thing ever but it definitely hurt. Swelled up, and started to feel like fire on my skin. The chances of them biting are supposed to be low but they do bite.
My parents had a friend who got bit by one too and same thing, his arm swelled up
You must have had an allergic reaction. I have been bitten several times when handling an aggressive garter...but never any skin reaction at all.
He’s adorable! When I was a kid, I’d play with little garter snakes that I’d find in the yard. Never had one try to bite me, though. Maybe because I didn’t act like I was a threat and I was very gentle with them. I’d just pick them up and let them slither around my hands. Only really small ones, which seemed to be mainly what I’d see in the yard.
Great memories! I hope more kids today could grow up like you did!
1st time viewer and subscriber. Joyous wee schoolyard necessities for any kid. Fun video. Steve from Michigan†
Hi Steve from Michigan! Welcome to my channel!
They are so chill to handle even in the wild used to pick them up all the time as a kid they calm down fast.
😀😀😀! What state and county were you in?
I live in FL and we get 4-5 foot garters. And not all brown/yellow. I accidentally injured an absolutely gorgeous blue and black one with my lawn mower, as it had rained for so long the grass grew very high before I could cut it. I had to dispatch it, unfortunately. Broke my heart. It really was the most beautiful snake I have ever personally seen.
Sadly did same to a local snake yesterday. Hurts.
@@natureatyourdoor Definitely
"Guarder Snake" or "Garden Snake"?
Thanks.
So much.
(Curling in the hand is absolutely priceless)...amazing!
Thanks for the info!
Good question ..hard to distinguish by voice...Garden Snake....which makes sense! ...yeah..and when he poked his little head out!!!! 👌
@@natureatyourdoorI thought this was about garter snakes. You even mention the garter stripe, but here you write garden?
@wilhelmschmidt7240 a lot of people changed the word garter and know this snake as the "garden snake" ! 😃
Really great video! Thanks for sharing the info!
You are welcome! Thanks for your ecouragement and support!
Awesome video, just earned you another subscriber! Thank you!
Thank you so much James! Welcome to NAYD. I hope you will check out my reptile and amphibian playlists as well. Thanks for subscribing!
i was snorkeling below a waterfall in northern california last wednesday, looking at a few ultra poisonous newts when out of nowhere a giant garter snake appeared from the periphery of my dive mask (4' under water!) and seemed to be hunting the newts! i grabbed the snake to get a look at it and it bit the back of my hand rather badly. I have caught countless garter snakes in my life but they've never drawn blood, let alone so much. I've never seen one with the brown coloration of the one in the video, very handsome
That must have been fascinating seeing freshwater wildlife underwater..except of course the getting bit part!
it's funny- this *really big* garter did the usual poop thing but it was the first time I had trouble getting the smell off my hand just like you said. In past encounters it seem to rinse away really well with water. also this garter was flattening itself almost like a cobra or a flying snake. maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was swimming in the really cold water
@@knuthamsun6106 amazing diversity of behaviors!! Interesting hearing differences!
My elementary school was beside a creek. In third grade, while playing outside, we found a nest of these snakes near the creek. Our teachers flipped out when they realized we were all carrying around 2 or 3 of these snakes.
Lololol! Kudos to you guys! 😉
I enjoyed learning about the Garter Snake. I have never kept this type of snake as a pet. My snakes are Pythons and Boas. Thamnophis sertilis is easy to remember if I think Bush Snake.
Ha! Bush Snake is a great name! Lol..sounds like it is from Australia!
My mother and I came across a hibernaculum of garter snakes emerging one spring. There were dozens, not a large group, but my mother was terrified of snakes. She didn’t like them, but was brave enough to watch the males emerging, searching for the huge lady snake. It was chaos when she was discovered. Garters are the only snake that lives in the northern area of my province, Ontario. I treasure our experience!
The most northern snakes species? Speaking of chaos...have you seen my recent toad mating videos?
@@natureatyourdoor Haven’t seen your toad mating videos, but you can be sure I’ll see them soon. Thanks for the suggestion. As a kid I used to go to the local pond, collect Spring Peeper frog eggs, and incubate and raise them in a huge aquarium. When they were big enough to not be everybody’s snack, I’d release them in various wet lands to boost the population. That was when I was 6-10 years old. I’m 69 now and wish I could still do my foggy rescues!
Really enjoyed this!
Thank you Carrie! I appreciate that very much!
I learned a lot. Thanks so much for the lesson about snakes. Jim :)
You are welcome Jim!
thank you for all this info!
You are so welcome!
We have lots of garter snakes around our place in Montana but since they covered the irrigation ditch I haven’t seen as many. Our ranch has lots of rattlesnakes and quite a few bull snakes as well.
Sounds like a lot of competition from other snake species. Sounds like your garter snakes must have found their niche in the wetland like oasid of the drainage ditches. Very cool btw to hear from Montana!!! 👍😀
I have a pet plains garter. He's 25 inches long, stunningly beautiful and is such a wonderful little creature. His name is Noodleman and I love him so much. He's never bitten me but I have been musked on a couple of times (usually when he's in blue and can't see and I accidentally spook him).
I've always loved snakes but I never thought I would love one this much. They truly are wonderful.
Ha! Pretty cool! 😎
I had a sixth grade teacher who read to us after lunch. After he read Riki Tiki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling he brought in a garter snake and we all had to touch it, we didn’t have to hold it or even like it, but experience it? Yes I’m in my 60s now and that was certainly one of my favorite years.
Awe. Great share! My dad read all the jungle books to me as a kid!
@@natureatyourdoor thanks! I still don’t like snakes, but I’ll tell you male teachers present things that females are reluctant to . We also read Rascal in our reading groups, then brought a sack lunch to school and went to the creek behind our school and talked about the book. We were still young and wide-eyed enough that we were in awe of seeing a raccoon. Such memories!
That's one very chill garter you've got there.
Yes! I was surprised!
I'm still not in love with snakes at all, but I enjoy learning from you.
Ah! A very rewarding compliment. Thank you!
Very educational, thank you for the lesson
You are welcome!
Cambridge Ontario Canada saw a great many Butlers Garter Snakes. Lived there a few years when i was young... just turned 57.
I need to come up to Canada to witness the migration! Thanks for share Lukiel
Thanks. Loved this. The best part was the word "hibernaculum"!
Ha! Lol! 😉