Cobb County Extension Service
 

EASTERN GARTER SNAKE

Melissa Guidice

Horticultural Program Assistant

Did you know that the common Eastern Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), has been showing up in some uncommon places in Cobb County since we have had so much rain.  We have had more than 8 inches in various parts of the county as a result of Hurricane Dennis!  Garter snakes are opportunistic and resourceful.

Many wild animals have been forced from their hiding places.  Some of these animals would be considered pests and serve as ample food sources for the garter snake.   So the garter snake is very resourceful in occupying and ridding the landscape of these. When cornered, their first instinct is to bluff their way with a show of temper or if picked up, they may try to bite.  When confronted, it can release a musky-scented odor, similar to a skunk’s.  Though this is a mostly docile snake that just conceals itself from the encounters that interrupt its pursuit of a daily intake of frogs, earthworms, slugs, toads and salamanders, rodents.  Occasionally, they will eat fish, birds and their eggs.

Do you know why they are called garter?  It is because of the patterning on their sides, which resembles that of the garters once worn by an older generation of men to hold up their socks.  This patterning helps them to camouflage into their surroundings, which makes for some surprising encounters with homeowners. They are found in and around weedy or brushy areas, rock piles, damp places and yes, here in Cobb County, in the flood plains.  Different parts of Georgia, i.e.- central and south- contain species of garter snakes that vary from the checkered to the striped body.  A bit of trivia: garter snakes are the only species of snake in the state of Alaska!

Garter snakes bear live young in late summer to as many as 50 babies at a time.  But a record litter has been recorded to contain as many as 98 babies!  The babies immediately abandon the mother after birth.  They grow from between 18” to 26” long to as much as four feet (48”) in length.  The color may range from black to dark brown to tan to greenish.  Stripes may be yellow, tan, bluish or a shade of green.  Garter snakes are not slimy, but have a protective layer of scales that cover their body. These scales are composed of the same material that forms our fingernails- keratin.

Because they are susceptible to loss of body water, their hibernaculum must be close to the water table but not flooded.  What is a hibernaculum?  It is a secure den that provides a low temperature but does not freeze.  This is where the snake will hibernate in the winter.  Snakes are incapable of long migrations, so a hibernaculum must be relatively close to their summer residence.  Without an adequate and secure den, snake populations will not be successful or thriving.

SNAKE FACTS:

·        Snakes cannot crawl backwards!  They can only turn the front half of their bodies and start moving in the opposite direction.

·        Snakes can hear!  Though they have no external ears, sound waves are transmitted from the skin on the side of their skull to the jaw muscle to their ear bone.

·        Snakes can smell!  Their tongues are the primary organ that increases their ability to sense smells.  The frequent flicks of the tongue tip of the snake gathers odor particles, which adhere and are transferred to a sensing chamber that “describes” the smell.

Snakes are integral and legitimate members of our community.  They serve to indicate the quality of our ecosystems.  They are attracted to sources of food and to hiding places. 

It would be wise to do a general cleanup of the yard since many of their hiding places have been uprooted from the overflow of stream banks and the general flooding in the county.

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