Butler's Garter Snake (Thamnophis butleri)

Butler's Garter Snake
Photograph by Bruce Kingsbury. License: Public Domain. (view image details)

BUTLER'S GARTER SNAKE FACTS

Description
Butler’s Garter Snake is a slender snake with three yellow or orange stripes along the length of the body. The background color is brown, black or olive. There are sometimes two rows of dark spots between the side stripes and the back stripe. The lateral stripes run along the second, third and fourth rows of scales up from the ventral scales. The head is small for a garter snake.

Size
40cm - 50cm

Environment
Butler’s Garter Snake is found in meadows, wet prairies, marshes, savanna, grasslands, suburban and residential areas. Often found under rocks, logs, or debris.

Food
mainly earthworms, but also eats leeches, salamanders and frogs.

Breeding
The species is ovoviviparous.

Range
Found in Ontario in Canada; Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin in United States

Notes
Garter Snakes have toxins in their saliva and the bite can produce mild reaction in humans. They are not considered dangerous to humans, although they excrete a foul smelling musk when handled. It thrashes around when trying to escape.

Classification

Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata (Serpentes)
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Thamnophis
Species:	butleri
Common Name:	Butler's Garter Snake

Relatives in same Genus
  Blackneck Garter Snake (T. cyrtopsis)
  Western Terrestrial Garter Snake (T. elegans)
  Coast Garter Snake (T. elegans terrestris)
  Two-Striped Garter Snake (T. hammondii)
  Checkered Garter Snake (T. marcianus marcianus)
  Redstripe Ribbon Snake (T. proximus rubrilineatus)
  Eastern Ribbon Snake (T. sauritus sauritus)
  Northern Ribbon Snake (T. sauritus septentrionalis)
  Texas Garter Snake (T. sirtalis annectens)
  California Red-Sided Garter Snake (T. sirtalis infernalis)
  Common Garter Snake (T. sirtalis sirtalis)

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