Caitlyn Moss
Natural History of the Eastern Garter Snake
The Eastern Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, is a species of snake native to South Carolina. Belonging to the family Natricidae, they are harmless, live-bearing snakes. We encountered Greta the Garter Snake at the Stono Preserve, hiding in a bush that was pretty deep in the forest, and had a lot of leaf litter under it. It was not the first time I've encountered a garter snake in the wild, but it was the first time I had gotten so close. The class determined that she was most likely a female snake. She was not the biggest snake, but she wasn't small either. She didn't seem to be a juvenile, though. At first, she attempted to flee us, but once we captured her, she musked, but then calmed down.
Garter snakes are usually found near bodies of water, though not always. They frequent habitats such as meadows, marshes, or woodlands. They are active both at night and during the day, as well as year round in our region. As stated, they are live-bearing, or viviparous.
Garter snakes typically prey upon amphibians, but have been known to prey on small fish, birds, and rodents. Garter snakes are often prey themselves, mostly to animals such as larger fish, bullfrogs, larger snakes, and raccoons, among others.
Garter snakes also have adaptations to protect them against their many predators. For example, they have many different postural positions that may help them deter the predators.
I really appreciated the experience with the garter snake, because I personally love snakes, but have never really gotten to interact with a wild one, only captive. It made me less scared of encountering wild snakes, because she was a very calm snake, for the most part.
References: field guide
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/28362-Thamnophis-sirtalis
https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/thasir.htm
1 comment:
I'm glad you had this experience! Approximately how large was Greta, and how large do garter snakes get?
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