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Snake ID, Michigan

16 years ago

SW Michigan. This snake is calm and friendly, about 20 inches long. It has a rounded head and round pupils. It prefers to run away and not fight. Anyone know what it is? It just doesn't look like any picture of a garter snake I've seen. Found near a stream about 6 feet wide.

Juvenile queen snake maybe?

Here is a link that might be useful:

Comments (7)

Day_By_Day
16 years ago
Any chance of a top view? I've found garters seem to change color patterns from month to month. Butler's is in Michigan I think. Unless I'm way off, I'd narrow it to an Eastern or a Butler's, or Northern Ribbon, or one that just squeezed through a freshly painted red fence. ;)
chuckr30
Original Author
16 years ago
I have no other photos, just another blurry side view. Sorry.
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"I've had no experience with queen snakes." I understand, and I think that this is also true of the others who are calling it a Queen Snake. For Mike and I, who have each seen many, many Queen Snakes and many, many Gartersnakes, it is painfully obvious that this is a Gartersnake. "that lighting and color in photography can be misleading" I see your point very well. But...the camera is not playing tricks here. It shows a dorsal stripe and red banding because they do indeed exist. "...and never seen such a patternless species whether in shed or not" But which is more likely, a Gartersnake with some pattern lacking? or a Queen Snake with a Garter-esque head, dorsal stripe, red-banding, and found far from water? "That being said, I can't be sure of the species." That's really great to hear someone say. I'm glad that someone can admit that they're not "100% sure" it's a Queen Snake, because it is not. This is a Gartersnake. -Todd ...oh, and to keep it interesting, here's a real Queen Snake found a few days ago in western Indiana.
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snakeguybill
16 years ago
There is a ribbon snake with a red stripe, but it runs down the center of their back. I would do a search under "red sided garter snake". I think you'll find what you're looking for there. Good luck.
Day_By_Day
16 years ago
Aha, I think I found it. I was thinking Red Sided but then thought they were only in CA. Then I happened upon (Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus) Red-spotted Garter snake. What do you think?
chuckr30
Original Author
16 years ago
Red spots are too small on my snake to be a Red Spotted. However I did find a closer match with the Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi, aka "Valley Garter Snake" or "Western Yellow Bellied Racer". However the name suggests they are only in the western US.

See link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi
wayne_mo
16 years ago
Wow, goregous colors near the belly!

It is an aberrant Eastern Garter Snake. The Eastern Garter Snake shows tremendous variation in pattern even within a single geographic region and the reddish coloring Eastern Garters while uncommon do seem to appear from time to time, especially in the western part of the Eastern Garter Snake's range (Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Western Kentucky, Arkansas etc.).

I've seen about three similar to the one above in Illinois (while I have seen many many more normal phased snakes).

Red-Sided, Valley, and some of the western forms of garter snakes that have red on them as a regular part of their pattern are in the same species as Eastern Garter Snakes but a different subspecies. Seems over time the west favored color morphs that had red on them and eventually that mutation which is still an aberration in eastern snakes became the norm.
chuckr30
Original Author
16 years ago
I think I found a match. This site has the only pictures of a garter snake which are not a clear black with yellow stripes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Common garter snake

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