Reptile
Plains Garter Snake
Thamnophis radixAlso known as Western Plains Garter Snake
Plains garter snakes are cold-hardy prairie serpents that emerge from communal hibernacula on the warmest days of late winter, even when snow still blankets the ground. Females give birth to live young in mid to late summer, occasionally producing litters of several dozen active neonates. When startled, they often release a foul-smelling musk and void their cloacal contents rather than strike.
ReptilePrairieCold Tolerant
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preyEarthworm, Northern Leopard Frog, Common Toad
Predators
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Striped Skunk
- American Bullfrog
ThreatsHabitat fragmentation, road mortality, wetland drainage, and pesticides
HabitatsPrairies, grasslands, wet meadows, marshes, and urban vacant lots
Life span5–10 years in the wild
Classification
- FamilyColubridae
- GenusThamnophis
- SpeciesThamnophis radix
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance; releases a pungent musk if handled.
Responsible observation
- Footwear Awareness: Watch the edges of marsh trails and sunny prairie paths where snakes bask during cooler mornings.
- Gentle Observation: Maintain a couple paces of space to avoid prompting an escape dash or defensive musk discharge.
Same Genus Wilson44691 / Public domain · cc0
Same Genus Caudatejake / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
Same Genus (c) Michelle, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
Prey "Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)" by acryptozoo is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. · cc-by
Predator Buteo_jamaicensis_1.jpg: Alan Vernon derivative work: Berichard (talk) / CC BY 2.0 · cc-by
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