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Electronic Field Guide to the
Reptiles and Amphibians of
Southern California
Available Now at the
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Adult, Del Norte County |
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| Adult, Del Norte County |
Red-striped adult, Del Norte County |
Adult, Del Norte County |
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Brown adult, Del Norte County |
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Red adult, Del Norte County
© William Flaxington |
Red-striped adult, Del Norte County © Alan Barron |
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Nearly patternless adult,
Del Norte County © Alan Barron |
Nearly patternless adult,
Del Norte County © Alan Barron |
Striped Adult, Del Norte County
© Alan Barron |
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| Adult, Del Norte County © Steven Krause |
Adult, Del Norte County © Steven Krause |
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| Habitat |
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Habitat, Del Norte County
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Habitat, Humboldt County |
Habitat, Del Norte County |
More pictures of this snake and its natural habitat outside
of California
are available on our Northwest Herps page.
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| Short Video |
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A Northwestern Gartersnake
on the move. |
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Description |
Nonvenomous |
| Gartersnakes have toxins in their saliva which can be deadly to their prey and their bite might produce an unpleasant reaction in humans, but they are not considered dangerous to humans. |
| Size |
| A fairly small gartersnake - 13 - 38 inches long ( 33 - 96 cm), averaging 12 - 24 inches (30 - 61 cm). Neonates are about 6 inches (15 cm). |
| Appearance |
| A medium-sized snake with a head barely wider than the neck and keeled dorsal scales. The head is relatively small compared to other California gartersnakes. Highly variable in color in pattern. Typically there is a wide and distinct dorsal stripe, but sometimes the stripe is narrow, very dull in color, or absent. The color of this stripe can be red, orange, gold, yellow, greenish, blue, white, or tan. There are usually stripes along the lower sides, but these, too, may be absent on some individuals. These stipes also vary in color from yellow, to tan, to whitish. The ground color is blackish, olive, brownish, bluish, or gray, sometimes with a reddish tint, or reddish specks, and there are typically two rows of alternating dark spots, which may be partly obscured by a very dark ground color. The underside is yellowish, brown, gray, or black, often with dark spots or red specks. Completely red, unstriped snakes occur in the Siskiyou Mountains. (St. John) Melanistic individuals are sometimes found. |
| Behavior |
Active in the daytime. Mostly terrestrial, escaping into vegetation not water when threatened, but capable of swimming. When first handled, often releases cloacal contents and musk, but rarely bites. In most areas, activity begins in March and ends in October, but this snake can sometimes be seen basking on sunny days in winter.
Studies have shown that the escape behavior of this snake is determined by pattern: striped snakes will escape by crawling away, since the stripes make it difficult to determine the snake's speed, while spotted or plain snakes will crawl, suddenly change direction, then hold still, as their pattern tends to blend in with the background. (E. D. Brodie III) |
| Diet |
| Mostly slugs and earthworms, occasionally snails, and amphibians, possibly fish. |
| Reproduction |
| Mating apparently occurs both in early spring, and early fall. Live young are born from July to September. |
| Range |
| In California, found only in the extreme northwest along the coast, in Del Norte and northern Humboldt counties. |
| Habitat |
| Occurs in California mostly in the northern coastal fog belt in damp areas with lots of vegetation and open sunny areas, such as lowland thickets, meadows and forest clearings. Can be common hear human dwellings. Often found beneath boards and other surface cover. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| No subspecies are recognized, though there are geographic populations where one color morph is dominant. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| There are no known threats to this species. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Colubridae |
Colubrids |
| Genus |
Thamnophis |
North American Gartersnakes |
Species
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ordinoides |
Northwestern Gartersnake |
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Original Description |
Thamnophis ordinoides - (Baird and Girard, 1852) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 176
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Thamnophis - Greek - thamnos - shrub or bush, and ophis - snake, serpent
ordinoides - similar to T. ordinatus - Baird and Girard compared this to a species now called T. sirtalis
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
None
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Other California Gartersnakes |
T. a. atratus - Santa Cruz Gartersnake
T. a. hydrophilus - Oregon Gartersnake
T. a. zaxanthus - Diablo Range Gartersnake
T. couchii - Sierra Gartersnake
T. gigas - Giant Gartersnake
T. e. elegans - Mountain Gartersnake
T. e. terrestris - Coast Gartersnake
T. e. vagrans - Wandering Gartersnake
T. hammondii - Two-striped Gartersnake
T. m. marcianus - Marcy's Checkered Gartersnake
T. s. fitchi - Valley Gartersnake
T. s. infernalis - California Red-sided Gartersnake
T. s. tetrataenia - San Francisco Gartersnake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012.
Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Bartlett, R. D. & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.
Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
Rossman, Douglas A., Neil B, Ford, & Richard A. Siegel. The Garter Snakes - Evolution and Ecology. University of Oklahoma press, 1996.
Brown et. al. Reptiles of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society,1995.
Nussbaum, R. A., E. D. Brodie Jr., and R. M. Storm. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. Moscow,
Idaho: University Press of Idaho, 1983.
St. John, Alan D. Reptiles of the Northwest: Alaska to California; Rockies to the Coast. Lone Pine Publishing, 2002.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Wildlife |
None |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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