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Common Garter Snake

Thamnophis sirtalis

Photo by Kyle A
Published on Project Noah
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41.906, -71.4461

Field Notes

Description:

It was about 9 inches long.

Habitat:

Spotted in a cultivated field bordering deciduous woods while cutting the grass.

Notes:

This garter had milky-blue eyes.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (4)
Kyle A
Thank you very much for the confirmation and your expertise AshleyT. This particular snake wasn't aggressive, but it was very annoyed by me handling it. It kept doing a twirling sort of thing which I've never seen before.
AshleyT
Yes, milky blue eyes mean a snake is about to shed. Snakes shed their eye scale along with the rest of their skin. You will also notice the pattern on the entire body is very faded, this happens right before they shed as well. They cannot see very well when their eyes are blue like that and are much more likely to defend themselves by biting because they have no idea what's going on when you are getting close to them.
Kyle A
I'm not sure why the eyes are blue. My guess is that it's about to shed.
HemaShah
That is what I was about to say,milky blue eyes!! do you think that it is ready to shed?

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Reptiles of the World
Mission
Snakes of the World
Mission
Reptiles of New England
Mission
Snakes of the United States - Center for Snake Conservation
Mission
Reptiles of the East U.S.

Tags

Photographed
PublishedJune 23, 2014

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