Hi I'm New-pls help identify this snake!

judicb · 07-03-11, 07:14 PM

Hi, I just joined this forum to see if you can help me identify this snake. I live on north central Vancouver Island where we have very few wild snakes. We only have garter snakes, but nothing like we saw on our walk yesterday. It was about 2.5 to 3 feet long and about 1.5" in diameter. Much bigger than our usual red racers. He was basking on an old piece of wood on a grassy/boggy part of the beach. Please can someone help figure out what kind of snake this might be - it may have hitched a ride here on someones RV - doesn't seem to be native to this island that's for sure.
Thankssss for your help!

Judi
Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada

stephanbakir · 07-03-11, 08:44 PM

That thing looks like some kind of garter, gona need to wait for Wayne. Great looking snake though.

reptile65 · 07-03-11, 09:01 PM

I'm thinking it's a Wandering Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans vagrans). It looks like it just had a nice meal, too!

stephanbakir · 07-03-11, 09:09 PM

Aren't wanderers grey/black?

reptile65 · 07-03-11, 10:32 PM

Some of them are. Garters can be highly variable from individual to individual. I'm guessing it's a Wandering based on the pattern, as well as the fact that they are found in BC.

infernalis · 07-04-11, 03:39 AM

The pattern and the fact that some wandering garters can get huge compared to other garters leads me to believe you may just have one right here.

Dehlida · 07-04-11, 09:49 AM

Right on folks. T. e. Vagrans

judicb · 07-04-11, 10:20 AM

Thanks for your help. We have never seen any snake this large before on the island. My husband was born here and I have lived here for 27 years. Since it didn't have any definite stripes down the length of it, we weren't sure if it was a garter or not. I found a different range map that says that the western terrestrial wandering garter snake does live here on the island after all. Go figure. And I guess our sweet little 'red racers' are actually 'common garter snakes'. Always good to learn new things

Sssooo I guess we are pretty sure it is a Western Terrestrial (Wandering) Garter Snake, right?
Thanks again!
Judi
PS we went back the next day (unfortunately without a camera) and it was in the same general area basking and fat once again!

Do you suppose it's full of babies or just eating a lot all the time?

youngster · 07-04-11, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judicb

PS we went back the next day (unfortunately without a camera) and it was in the same general area basking and fat once again!

Do you suppose it's full of babies or just eating a lot all the time?

I doubt it ate twice, it probably just didn't digest the meal. My guess is it's the same meal you saw the first time. Or it could be two different snakes.

reptile65 · 07-04-11, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngster

I doubt it ate twice, it probably just didn't digest the meal. My guess is it's the same meal you saw the first time. Or it could be two different snakes.

I agree. That meal looks pretty big, so the snake is most likely still digesting the same meal.