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Reptiles & Amphibians

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Western Terrestrial Gartersnake - Thamnophis elegans

Wandering Gartersnake - Thamnophis elegans vagrans

(Baird and Girard, 1853)

Range Map

Blue = range of T. e. vagrans
Click map for key to subspecies






Related or Similar Northwest Snakes:

Northwestern Gartersnake
Valley Gartersnake
Puget Sound Gartersnake
Red-spotted Gartersnake

observation link



Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake
  Adult, Spokane County, Washington   Adult, Paiute County, Utah
© Patrick Briggs
Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake
Adult, Park County, Wyoming Adult, Bannock County, Idaho
© Patrick Briggs
Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake
Adult, Thurston County, Washington
Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake
Adult, Spokane County
© Jeremiah Easter
Adult, Yakima County
© Jeremiah Easter
Albino adult © Patrick Briggs An amelanistic adult, Bannock County, Idaho © Patrick Briggs
Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake  
In some areas, Wandering Gartersnakes overwinter in large groups. Here you can see a mass emergence of Wandering Gartersnakes and Valley Gartersnakes in early May, Lincoln County, Wyoming. © Leslie Schreiber Intergrade of the Mountain Gartersnake - T. e. elegans and the Wandering Gartersnake - T. e. vagrans.

Found in northern Siskiyou and Modoc counties in California and in south central Oregon, this intergrade was once considered a unique subspecies: Thamnophis elegans biscutatus - Klamath Gartersnake. Click on the link above to view more pictures of this snake.

Adult, Boise County, Idaho
© John Bachman
 
       
Wandering Gartersnakes from the Puget Sound with Dark Ground Color
(Dark nigrescens variation - formerly recognized as the subspecies Thamnophis elegans nigrescens)
Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake
Dark nigrescens variation adult, Pierce County, Washington
Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake
Dark nigrescens variation adult,  Pierce County, Washington Dark nigrescens variation adult,
Pierce County, Washington
Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake
  Dark nigrescens variation adult, Pierce County, Washington  
Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake Wandering Gartersnake  
Dark nigrescens variation adult,
Pierce County, Washington
Dark nigrescens variation adult in habitat, Pierce County, Washington Dark nigrescens variation adult, Pierce County, Washington (on top right) with sympatric Puget Sound Gartersnake, Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii (on bottom left.)  
       
Habitat
Wandering Gartersnake habitat Wandering Gartersnake habitat Wandering Gartersnake habitat Wandering Gartersnake habitat
Habitat, Pierce County, Washington
Habitat, 7,800 ft. Park County, Wyoming Habitat, Pierce County, Washington Habitat, Thurston County, Washington
Wandering Gartersnake habitat Wandering Gartersnake habitat    
Habitat, Thurston County, Washington Habitat, Boise County, Idaho
© Bill Bachman
   
       
Short Videos
   
Wandering Gartersnakes found beside a creek in the mountains of Arizona. A melanistic Wandering Gartersnake found in Washington State.    
       
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