EVERYTHING you need to know about Garter Snakes! 

I absolutely LOVE these snakes! They're very interactive, VERY easy to care for and maintain, and fun to feed. Used to have a green one roughly ten years ago, her name was Lime, and ALL of my friends (except for my cousin who she DID NOT like at all) had a BLAST handling her. She never bit anyone or tried to lunge out of anyone's hands and she LOVED to slither around peoples shoulders and wiggle around in their hair. When I cleaned her cage and would let her chill on my shoulders and she ALWAYS stayed put and would wrap herself in loops around my necklace and just ride around with me wherever I went, even in public, and she always had her head positioned RIGHT up under my chin to get a good view of everything, I LITERALLY had a snake necklace. She was wild caught and tamed and lived for about 9 years after I caught her before she finally passed away unfortunately. R.I.P Lime, my beautiful babygirl.

I think i was in grade 1 when i brought a bucket of 13 garters to school for show and tell. The teacher left the room. Now i live in a place with garters , milk, and grass snakes. There are so many more amazing little friends on our property. I love your video.

My father is a construction worker and many years ago he rescued two garter snakes from the construction site. Sadly one died but the other lived. It was one of the most docile and sweetest snakes I had ever met. You could handle him with ease and it was never aggressive. It loved to eat earthworms and it was so fascinating to watch him devour his meal growing up. He passed away 2 years later. He lived a good life.

Have a bunch of garters around my place in northern Wyoming, and I love 'em! Free, organic, non-toxic, self-propagating biodegradable pest control. There are a couple of nearly 4-footers on our property, so I know they can get that big. I often pick up one or two on a chilly morning and warm them in my hands before laying them somewhere toasty. Never had one bite, and they seem to be one of the friendlier species...although I have been "skunked" by a couple that didn't know I was helping them!

Coincidently, my son's family just moved and on his wife's first walk a fully grown garter snake slid over her foot and stopped. She sent pictures. Forty five years ago I was a policeman stopped in traffic. I walked to the front of the line and there was the biggest garter snake I've ever seen stretched across the road. I scooped him up and put him in the back of my car to release in a safe place. He was completely calm. It's the only time I got a round of applause for doing cop stuff.

I remember being afraid of snakes, but was helped by a girl in 1st and 2nd grade, C. Lambert - I have always been grateful to her for that, and she inspired me to help others defeat their fear of snakes. Wherever she is: thank you!

I'm always on the lookout for them whilst cutting the grass. I love having them around and hate hurting the little guys.

As a kid, I kept several as pets for an entire summer, and let them go in the fall. One time I found an unusual brightly colored one, that was easily 24 inches long. It was the typical blackish, but had very vivid red, yellow, and green coloring. I kept that one as a pet for about three years in an indoor aquarium, feeding it night crawlers from the bait shop. Another time I found this tiny snake (about 7 inches long) in my yard, and when I went to pick it up, it started buzzing it's tail like a rattler. I live in Illinois (far south Chicago area) and nobody believed that area had rattlers. Well...I phoned a biologist at a local university and she was VERY interested to see this. Turned out to be a baby female Kansas Massasauga (Pigme Rattlesnake)

I once saw a garter snake that had cloudy eyes, sunning itself on a pile of mulch. It didn’t respond to me moving my hand in front of it, and I thought it had cataracts or some sort of eye disease. I later learned that snakes’ eyes appear cloudy when they are starting to molt.

It was great that your daughter was telling your grandson that, though these creatures are beautiful, you shouldn’t handle them without supervision. Wild animals need space and respect, no matter size

I just showed my son about what he called a "Gardner " snake and your channel showed up. You have a great way of teaching and your pleasant to listen to. God bless.

Caught them all the time when I was a kid growing up in Connecticut. I can vouch for them biting with super Velcro like teeth. Little bite marks, little blood and I survived to tell the tale. The reason you end up leaving them alone is their defensive stink that you could hardly wash away. Strong, potent and gross

When I was a teen my dad had a neatly stacked pile of bricks right next to an open meadow with a piece of sheet metal covering it. Perfect hunting grounds for snakes and a nice cozy hideout. I'd figured out quite fast that I could just pull up the tin and pick snakes off the top of the brick pile. At first the would all scurry away but as I made my daily round and started bringing earthworm snacks, fight nor flight were seen as attractive prospects! By mid summer I had them eating out of my hand and I could just casually grab one from the pile. My go to strategy at first though was to just catch them by the tail and scoot them off to an open area like the lawn and put my other hand just out of reach in front of them. If they flattened their bodies to make themselves look big and and try to lunge for a bite I would bail out, but 9/10 times that didn't happen so I just gingerly picked them off the ground and usually within a minute of being handled they get that no harm is going to happen and that actually chilling there at optimal body temperature is just perfect they get really tame!!

I love your tone of love and respect for these lovely creatures

While trimming ferns above my stone wall, I found a Garter snake and 2 baby Copperheads. I left them alone to get on with their lives. I like sharing my yard with snakes. Love snakes!

Every spring the hillside near my parents' house comes alive with garter snakes coming out of hibernation. It's really fun to watch dozens of snakes of different shades and sizes come tumbling down the hillside

My wife and I recently moved to the USA from the UK (where there are basically no snakes and you almost never see one in the wild). During a recent walk we came face to face with one of these guys and safe to say we both thought we were gonna die haha. Great video! Wish I found it sooner... :P

I used to love catching them when I was kid. I tried keeping one as a pet once when I was around 9 or 10. The next day I was at school and called down to the office. On the way to the office I was trying to think of what I had done wrong. Well my Mom had called the school and told them that I needed to come home immediately!! So I ran home to find out what was going on. When got there my Mom was standing on the couch holding a broom obviously scared. Before I could ask what was going on she started yelling at me "catch that damn thing and get it out of the house"! Apparently it had crawled over her foot when she was in the kitchen lol. After a couple of hours I finally found it and released it in the back yard. That was the first and only time I tried to keep one. Looking back I'm glade it got out and was forced to release it because it probably would have died. I had no idea on how to care for it.

Hey Frank, thanks for uploading this! I remember as a young boy in southern Ontario, Canada I found a garter snake in my grandpas shop. Up until then, I wasn't aware snakes existed in Canada. So I ran to him and told him there was a snake in the shop and asked him what do to do? He kindly asked me to show him the snake, so I did. He told me it was a "Garter Snake" which I heard as gardener snake. He chuckled, of course.. when I repeated back to him my misunderstanding. He told me the snake was absolutely harmless and that we should put him outside so that he would not get caught in the shop if the door was closed. He grabbed the snake, showed it to me, released it outside on the grass and let him get away. It's one of my fondest memories of him and I miss him dearly. RIP Gramps... you'll never know how much of an effect you had on me that day.

A friend brought me a 40" garter snake (because I collected snakes - then released them.) She had 45 babies, most of which had the membranous sac, while others also had a yolk sac.) Most found - to the utter delight of the parents 😅 - a home with other kids. My name after that was something unprintable. I was a teenager. I caught a second female the next year, and she gave us 49 babies. Amazing how fast they grow! I suspect that more survived than would have if left in the wild, as they're easy prey for box tortoises, larger snakes, birds and skunks...and more. At least they likely had a head start!

They are very abundant in my neighborhood and I've always been curious about them. Thank you Frank for another great video.

One of these little guys got into our house here in Washington state a few years ago. Scared the hell out of my son, but I knew what kind of snake it was, and just caught him and put him back out in our yard. I think they're lovely little fellows, I love their soft colors and markings. Thank you for this lovely video. Surprised to learn that they're venomous! The little guy I caught and released never tried to bite me.

Baby snakes are generally more defensive because they are food for everything! That attitude protects them. Most garter snakes won't bite if handled gently. Their musk is usually enough. Lots of encounters and lots of experience including keeping them as pets. For those interested in keeping snakes: Garters do very well in shared enclosures, where most snakes you would house separately. As a matter of fact they thrive better if they are not alone and if you have babies, you will need to remove them but keep two to three together so they will eat. They will need to start on small earth worms and bits of fish ( do not feed goldfish). They will eat many things and need a varied diet. I do not mean to be rude or contradictive but I do believe it's only one small niche of garters that are poisonous (and that is in a particular area in Oregon where a certain newt or salamander, I believe, lives) the rest of your garden variety of garter snakes are what we in the "hobby" call rearfanged venomous (they gnaw on food to work the venom in) which in most species is so very mild and harmless to people that are not allergic to that specialized saliva. The reason I say most is that we are always discovering new species of animals and we know of one rearfanged colubrid that is is very deadly if you're bitten but they are not native to the US, the Boomslang. Garter snakes make great pets and will not musk, when they know they are safe. The wild caught ones I have handled have not musked nor bitten, but I live far from NY so they might be a more layed back subspecies. There are a large variety of garter snakes, some are absolutely gorgeous. Some are so protected that you can't even touch them. They are such an important part of any ecosystem you find them in, that's why they have such a great range and variety. Oh! To clarify, venom is a toxin that has to be injected in your system, and poison is a toxin that is ingested (inhaled or absorbed by contact). That might help clear up the confusion as we talk about poison vs venom). I will remove this comment if you prefer.

Hi Frank! 👋 love seeing these guys in my garden! Thanks for the great info & the great pictues of this snake! Very very interesting!

OMG how haven't I run into your channel, it's so delightful and I love your style!

He was so photogenic, he threw so many poses and postures for you!

Great video! Very informative and educational. I just want to say is that I definitely learned something new from your video, I had no idea that Garter Snakes had a mild neurotoxin ,that definitely is quite interesting. I want to just say thank you for your knowledge,understanding and appreciation for these amazing animals. I look forward to seeing your future videos down the road 😊👍🤘

I was taught from a young age that Garter Snakes were non venomous. About 10 years ago I became aware of the possibility that I had been taught wrong. When I would mention this or inform others that they were in fact venomous. I was ridiculed, laughed at, anything but taken serious. Now that this information is becoming more available to the general public, it gives me some sense of vindication. I owe my thanks to videos such as this. I was skeptical of this since I had always considered Garter Snakes as being non venomous. But that skepticism completely disappeared after I witnessed a Garter Snake catch and consume a large Bullfrog. The fight was on at first. The Garter Snake only had the frog by its back left leg. The frog was taking the snake on a wild ride with its one free jumping leg. But the snake held on and was able to work its way up on the frogs leg into a better grip. It wasn’t long after the snake started chewing on the frog’s leg, the frog became very docile. It was like it was no longer concerned that it was being ate. I also witnessed how snakes instinctively know how to deflate puffed up frogs. It amazed me that the frog had become so sedated and never once fought for its survival after the snake was able to chew on its leg. It was very obvious that something more was at play, that something had taken over the instinctive flight or fight response of the frog. One thing of not. This snake consumed the frog tail first, not head first as the man in the video mentions. I found this to be at odds with what I had been taught. After further research I found that this was very common For Garter Snakes.

This is the first video I've seen of your channel that came around on suggestions. My husband and I are in Northern PA not far from the NY border. We both watched you today. We have always had our encounters with garter snakes. They are feisty. Haha. We learned some new things here today. Thank you!

Back when i was a kid, i was walking in the woods by the railroad tracks one cold winter day. There was patches of snow on the ground and i found one of these snakes. He was blue but not frozen and probably dead. I didn't think at that time to put him in my coat pocket for a while and maybe save his life. I have always wondered what brought that little guy out into the snow.

what an amazing teacher. Your students were very fortunate

I used to keep Garters as pets the largest was nearly 3 feet long. I’ve been bitten several times while capturing them but once they’ve been fed by you they become very friendly. I use to walk around my neighborhood with it around my neck and it never tried to escape.

Thanks Frank, like always a great presentation on another great species of reptile.

Great videos. My uncle used to live in Goshen and I'm from Monticello so I liked that you were in Orange County lol

I run into these in my yard regularly. I enjoy knowing that they are around.

Loved this video! I recently moved to California and have been researching wildlife and discovered the beautiful San Francisco garter snake and wanted to learn more about this species snd other subspecies of the garter. I learned a lot from this episode.

Subscribed immediately! Love nature, big snake fan, lots of red sided garters in Ontario, and I have a big female, affectionally called Big Mamma, who lives under my dry brush pile in my back yard in the summer. Once had the privilege of seeing Mamma give birth to a couple of dozen of the cutest little reptiles I’d ever seen! Perfect copies of Mom, but only 4-6 inches long. Such nice snakes!

Here in Kansas where I live, we have alot of the red-checkered Garter Snakes. They really are beautifully colored. There's also ALOT of ribbon snakes that can range from red striped to bright yellow striped. Lots of snakes out here in the country in central Kansas!!

What a great video! I found you when doing some basic searches for my own garter snakeball video. I enjoyed your presentation so much, I shared your video link in my own video description. I found your relaxed, cheerful and anecdotal narration style inspirational. I look forward to watching some more of your videos soon. Thank you for sharing your joy!

Love these videos, glad I stumbled upon them. Almost every Garter Snake I’ve run across have been either pretty aggressive or have fled. They are a beautiful little snake. Thanks for the videos.

They're such pretty little things. I have never handled one before, but I've always enjoyed seeing them dart through the grass. Amazing creatures.❤

When nothing else is out, the garters save the day. Great info in this one, Frank. Know a few folks who've had an allergic reaction to a garter snake bite. Nothing life-threatening, just some swelling in the bite area. Here in AZ we have a couple of unique garters, the narrow-headed and Mexican. Both are protected and only reside in small areas within AZ. We're hoping to stumble across them in a few weeks. Can't touch, only observe.

Lovely video. Appreciate how you went into detail about why Garter Snakes have these traits and describing their lifestyle and adaptability. Subscribed! ❤

Wow!!! I had no darn idea these little guys were some what venomous. Great video, sir. Look forward to the next one.

I have always loved snakes. Growing up I remember garter snakes were black with red and yellow stripes. I find them all the time while working and now they come in a wide variety of colors. Recently a coworker found one and was about to throw it in a garbage truck. I stopped him and took a picture of the snake. When I was focusing on the snake to snap the picture I noticed it had a triangular head; I told my coworker because of the shape of the head, and its body shape, it might be a venomous snake. The snake was only about a foot long, too young to show any rattle. We released it in some vegetation along the road. I sent the picture to a buddy and his dad said he thought it was a mississauga (sp)? Rattlesnake. I’ve heard of these but I know they are quite rare around here. I felt lucky to have come across one!

I definitely learned things I didn't know about garter snakes. I steer clear of any snakes, though!! Thanks for teaching!!

I absolutely love your style of presentation on this channel! I just subscribed

One of the delightful secrets I've learned in my many decades upon this earth is that nearly everyone I come into contact with has something they can teach me. Remaining educable has been a great blessing. But why did I not remember what viviparous meant? Anyway, it's now back on my new vocabulary list, although I suspect it of being old and lost in this aged brain. Thank you for sharing your interesting knowledge of wild things of the earth with us. Thumbs up!

I don't remember if I shared this story on another of your videos. Back in the 1980's I was one of those people who collected wild snakes for captivity, (I'm more evolved now), I used to hang around with like minded people. ANYWAY, this occurred around Daytona Beach, near where I lived and worked at the time. I was visiting a friend who had a lot of snakes. He'd just collected a very vibrant Eastern Garter Snake and had it in a ten gallon aquarium by the front door. A girl we knew, dropped by and he showed her the snake. . She opened the tank and pulled the snake out and of course, being a Garter Snake, it bit her on the hand. And as Garter Snake bites generally do, it bled profusely. A minute or two later she said she was having problem breathing. Her face was swelling and we had to call an ambulance. She ended up spending a few days in the hospital, it was determined she had an anaphylactic reaction to the bite. I tell that as a cautionary tale to people. Even though we say that snakes like Garter Snakes, Water Snakes and a few others are "Harmless"... they aren't necessarily. And while dramatic reactions would be an extremely rare thing it's prudent to know it can happen.

My father ran a camp in upstate Pennsylvania when I was a kid. The sunny side of the lake always had garders sunning. We would disturb them by walking the path. We'd see a pile of them slither to the water edge. A cool sight to see. They also had a nature house. Every year they would collect the different things around the camp and care for them as they were displayed. A cool thing to see.

This is the ONLY snake that has ever bitten me. My big brother, (WAY back in the 60s) had picked up a garter snake in our yard, but instead of picking it up behind the head, which we were taught, he picked it up by the tail. So I went to grab it properly, the little bugger nails me, draws blood. Ugh. Still irks me. Mildly amusing, many years later, one of my sweet Corn Snakes decided to start chewing on my brother's elbow eliciting an "Umm, have you fed him lately?" Actually pretty fun. And yes, he was well fed.😊😊

These snakes are Awesome! I had one for about 6 years, it's name was "Primus", after the band, Hehe.. This snake I rescued after being attacked, His tail was bitten off. About 2 foot in the end and the circumfrence of a hotdog. I nursed him back to health. Primus did show affection to me, and was semi inteligent. He was cool and I miss him very much! He was a Weastern Terestrial Garder, and quite old. Primus Loved Gold fish in his water bowel and pinky mice. He even ate a VERY baby gerbal once. These are Wonderful creatures! Even My Mother liked him, and she does not like snakes.. She would let Primus wrap around her tea cup in the morning sometimes. These snakes can smell Musky! As far as venome goes.. Primus only bit me once and it just felt like sand paper, but my finger got a bit numb for a few minutes.. Tese are Great snakes for a novis, which I still am as I do not plan on having a snake again.. But they are Wonderful creatures all the same. 🙂 A GREAT Beginner snake for Sure! They are very cute and sweet! BTW.. He only bit me by accident whild trying to bite onto a pinky mouse, not out of defence. I once caught a baby Garter, and let him go of course.. He was so small and CUTE! The head of these snakes are very identifiable as well as their beautiful eyes! These snakes are like the Jumping Spiders of the snake world = Really Cute and kind of intelligent as they are inquisitive of their surroundings!

Excellent video, Frank! Rear-fanged Venomous species are so awesome. Local species like Garters and Hognoses have non-medically significant venom. However, the Boomslang, that is found in Southern Africa, is also Rear-fanged Venomous, and it has extremely toxic Venom that is dangerous to humans.

Great video. I am always scooping garters for a quick viewing when working all over B.C. Canada. Tons of variation over the 3 subs I see. Vivid red/ylw/black to light checker board to almost entirely black. And some big one approaching 3.5 ft over the years. Subscribed.

My elementary school was beside a creek. In third grade, while playing outside, we found a nest of these snakes near the creek. Our teachers flipped out when they realized we were all carrying around 2 or 3 of these snakes.

Enjoyed it very much. Learned something new about a creature encountered 50 years ago and scared to death. Thank you for educating me on their biology.

Awesome! Great post! Got me thinking the garter snake population on our place is.... well I haven't seen one now in a very long time. I use to sit with my dogs for a few minutes on the ground by their house daily and be amused that the same non aggressive garter snake would slip out from beneath the dog house with each visit and curl up within 3 feet enjoying the warmth of the sun and light shade along with me and the dogs. I would say hello garter snake how r u today. I enjoyed and looked forward to his greeting. Today that old dog house is gone so are the dogs...looking back I believe surely o'le Garter must have enjoyed the comradery too!

This was a most interesting video. I used to catch garter snakes as a kid in upper New York at a private school. Never had a nervous thought about it. Live in Alabama now and have seen quite a number of different snakes such as moccasins, copperheads, and one garter snake that was huge. Not sure how big they can get but this garter was over 3 feet long. Thanks for such an informative video.

I did enjoy this episode. And I learned a lot about this critter. That's some fascinating stuff!

I found a few garters under my shed and wanted to know how to respond. Thanks for providing such informative videos and for doing it so joyfully!

Thank you! I'm trying to overcome my snake phobia and this really helped

I had one just yesterday in my Virginia garden. I'm sure they're all over the place but I really don't see them much (nor am I really looking for them). The most common snake I have is the black snake, which there are many here and they get to be quite large! I see a copperhead occasionally...

I have 2 pet garters Koya is a Florida blue checkered , 1 year and 2 days old Karina is his GF. She's a granite grey checkered, with gorgeous bright yellow striping. I can confirm these are amazing snakies. Such personalities!! Love seeing someone talk good about them!!

Beautiful! It’s the beginning of April now here in Canada so I’m hoping to come across one! Many thanks for what you do because I just adore nature ❤😊😊😊😊

Yep, I have seen them come out of hibernation once. It was at a local cemetery, and they were coming up from under someone's vault. Saw a couple hundred emerge before I got too freaked out and took off.

I frequently find baby garter snakes on one area of the patio after it rains. I guess they go up there to get out of the water that fills up their holes in the woods. We have picked them up and held them all of our lives without any problem. Have never had a bite. I suppose that if you get them upset that they may become aggressive. Never torment a living creature. We have seen some garters that are well over a foot long. They look like they could eat a small mouse. They are good bug eaters. Don’t say bad things about the garter snake. The snake haters already kill every one of them that they find. They are useful creatures and people should not let their fear get the best of them. They may reproduce well but birds and the woodland creatures pick off the babies pretty quickly.

“I’m not scared at all” 💗💗love that girl! And love that only Pops holds snakes!

What a great show you have! I look forward to watching more episodes now that I'm subscribed!

Garter snakes are one of my favourite snake species. They are so underrated as pets (captive bred, of course) and, because they are so common, often dismissed as 'just a garter snake' when found in the wild. One of my favourite things about them is their social nature - they are one of the very few social snake species, not only brumating in groups, but also forming close bonds with one or two other snakes they will roam with. Studies have shown that when separated for extended periods, they will immediately reform those partnerships when re-introduced and will even integrate the 'lost' friend into partnerships with other snakes they developed while separated. Snakes with best friends...how cool is that?

They can be quite aggressive and nippy, that may be where the saying, "meaner than a striped snake" came from. I got bitten by a big Garter snake once while removing it from the road so it wouldn't get hit. The bite site bled profusely.

1st time viewer. Thank you for an excellent video.

Snakes are a wonderful creation. Beautiful. Great job on the info

Very common all around me. Rather variable in color. I’ve caught ones that have very strong lateral stripes to ones that have a good amount of orange to very dark and I even caught one that looked like it was dusted with silver. They love to eat worms and especially frogs. I came across a mating ball a few springs ago where there was a large female with at least a half dozen male suitors.

I had a friend from China and we were hiking around a small lake near Lake Tahoe. I picked up a 2-foot garter snake just behind the head to show to my friend. To my surprise the snake wrapped around my arm and defecated a white pasty substance that stank to high heaven. Now I pick up king snakes, bull snakes, and gopher snakes, but I leave the garter snakes alone.

1st time viewer and subscriber. Joyous wee schoolyard necessities for any kid. Fun video. Steve from Michigan†

Always enjoy seeing these when disc golfing

Not well known that when garter snakes are threatened they’re capable of biting sarcasm.

Love having snakes in my garden! Wish I had more. But wish you didn't tell people they have venom! People will freak out and start killing them. I was on a service day at my church working on clearing an area for a therapeutic riding horse ranch when someone yelled they saw a snake. Second comment was from a man looking for something to kill it with. Me being the animal lover I am saved the snake and gave a small lession on what kind of snake it was, what it really ate and that it was good to have in a garden. It was just a gopher snake. It was early in the morning and a bit chilly for the snake to even be active. It was real easy to catch and would have had no chance of survival being killed by a shovel! Of course all the children couldn't wait to touch it while I held it safely and many other women thought it was gross! The ranch owner had me set it free on the grounds of a plant nursery next to them. The next day I was featured on the church big screen as "The Snake Lady" a title I was proud of by the way! We need to take the opportunity to teach people to respect all kinds of animals whenever we can. Thank you for teaching us. Your channel is one of the best!

Thank you for educating us on these cute little snakes!! ❤❤❤

He’s adorable! When I was a kid, I’d play with little garter snakes that I’d find in the yard. Never had one try to bite me, though. Maybe because I didn’t act like I was a threat and I was very gentle with them. I’d just pick them up and let them slither around my hands. Only really small ones, which seemed to be mainly what I’d see in the yard.

I'm terrified of all snakes. I can't believe you are holding that thing in your hand.

Very interesting. I love snakes and I don't allow snakes to be killed on my property. ANY snakes. We have rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, coral snakes, and loads of harmless snakes in my area. Whenever I come across a snake in the road I will always try to move it out of the road. I've watched people purposely run them over and even shoot them.

Great video! That snake was so calm and friendly. 🐍

That is a most photogenic little garter, and so calm!

I live right by a nature trail and I got bit pretty badly by one of these. It wasn’t the worst thing ever but it definitely hurt. Swelled up, and started to feel like fire on my skin. The chances of them biting are supposed to be low but they do bite.

I used to live in MN and garters were everywhere now I live back in the UK and have to pay a lot for them, Loving your videos Frank, Thank you

"Guarder Snake" or "Garden Snake"? Thanks. So much. (Curling in the hand is absolutely priceless)...amazing! Thanks for the info!

I live in Erie pa and was cleaning up around some flowers and a garter took off I’ve never seen one that big it was at least 2 feet we do have some awesome habitat behind mine it was so cool I’m a first time viewer and I did subscribe awesome channel

Really great video! Thanks for sharing the info!

They are so chill to handle even in the wild used to pick them up all the time as a kid they calm down fast.

I learned a lot. Thanks so much for the lesson about snakes. Jim :)

Wow. I've never seen an aggressive garter yet. I'm toward southern rural Iowa where these are very common, maybe ours are just mild. Thanks for all the interesting info, we generally like these little guys around here.

My mother and I came across a hibernaculum of garter snakes emerging one spring. There were dozens, not a large group, but my mother was terrified of snakes. She didn’t like them, but was brave enough to watch the males emerging, searching for the huge lady snake. It was chaos when she was discovered. Garters are the only snake that lives in the northern area of my province, Ontario. I treasure our experience!

Thanks. Loved this. The best part was the word "hibernaculum"!

I enjoyed learning about the Garter Snake. I have never kept this type of snake as a pet. My snakes are Pythons and Boas. Thamnophis sertilis is easy to remember if I think Bush Snake.

Very nice vid. We always have them here around the firewood pile area in Virginia. We had one large one here for years that was 30 inches and a 1 1/4 inch in diameter. I caught it many times. They are very interesting creatures.

When I was young, I used to keep lots of garter snakes. I was bitten many times, but never suffered any ill effects.

Interesting information about some cute and usually inoffensive little fellows. Knowledge helps us coexist with and appreciate the other creatures who often share our living-space.

i was snorkeling below a waterfall in northern california last wednesday, looking at a few ultra poisonous newts when out of nowhere a giant garter snake appeared from the periphery of my dive mask (4' under water!) and seemed to be hunting the newts! i grabbed the snake to get a look at it and it bit the back of my hand rather badly. I have caught countless garter snakes in my life but they've never drawn blood, let alone so much. I've never seen one with the brown coloration of the one in the video, very handsome

No secrets to divulge this time (remember the rat snake in the wall story? mum's still the word!) Still loving your work, and love these precious creatures!