The range of the blue-striped garter snake

About 50 miles west of my home, I leave the range of the common Eastern garter snake, Thamnophis s. sirtalis, and enter the realm of the blue-striped garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis similis.

In actuality, garter snakes with blue striping may be found in some numbers throughout the Florida populations. But along the Gulf Coast of the state, from Hernando to Wakulla counties, the vast majority of the garter snakes have blue strips and bluish overtones. And the ribbon snakes are also bluish.

The intensity of the blue striping varies from pale to rich blue, while the interstitial skin and other bluish overtones are a bit lighter.

I have seen these garter snakes by day actively searching pond and ditch edges for the frogs of which their diet largely consists. But overall they seem more active at dusk as the setting sun adds its long red rays to nature's palette.

Author, photographer, and columnist Richard Bartlett is one of the most prolific writers on herpetological subjects in the 20th century. With hundreds of books and articles to their credit, Richard and his wife Pat have spent over four decades documenting reptiles both in the field and in captivity. For a list of their current titles, please visit their page in our bookstore.