Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

On Sunday, while helping plant a garden, I came across a small brown colored snake. It was about 3pm and the sun was fully out. Only it's head and a small part of the body was exposed, the rest was under the dirt. It was very hot that day, likely the snake was trying to thermoregulate. I immediately grabbed a long metal rod that was near, I was using it to make holes for the seeds I was planting. I gently got the snake out of the dirt, avoiding getting too close as I was unsure of what type of snake I was dealing with. It was about two feet in length and about a half inch diameter. Upon further inspection I noted that the snake was non venomous because of it's round pupils and the shape of it's head. I proceeded to pick him up by his tail and used the rod to keep its head away from my hands until it calmed down. once the snake became more docile I handled it and called my cousin over to hold it where I could take pictures. At the time I did not have my field guide anywhere near me and could not identify the species of this snake because it had a very unusual color pattern for a garter snake. Garter snakes typically have yellow or tan stripes on the side and along their back with a light yellowish color on the ventral side. This one was of a different color variation, it was darker with light tan stripes that were faintly visible but it had the correct ventral color and scale pattern. This could be because this particular snake is fairly young, but I think that likely it is a color variation. I found a color variation of the Easter Garter snake in my field guide that closely resembles the specimen I found. Eastern Garter snakes are one of our most common non venomous snakes, I am surprised I have not seen more of them around. This is the first one I have ever caught.

Jeremy Frank