Western Terrestrial Garter Snake

Thamnophis elegans (Baird and Girard, 1853)

French Name	Couleuvre de l'ouest
Spanish Name(s)	Culebra de Agua Nómada Occidental Terrestre Culebra de Agua Nómada de San Pedro Mártir (T. e. hueyi) Culebra de Agua Nómada (T. e. vagrans)
Canadian Range	Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan
U.S. Range	Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming
Mexican Range	Baja California
Legal Status	None known. Consult provincial or state pages for legal restrictions on keeping this species in captivity.
Diet	Possibly the widest prey preferences of any natricine. Will eat amphibians, earthworms, fish, mammals and other reptiles. Known as the most ophiophageous of the garter snakes. Very easy to convert to mice in captivity.
Max. Recorded Length	107 cm
Pet Trade Availability	3 – Frequently available.
Captivity Rating	4 – Excellent captive.

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Arizona Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans arizonae Tanner and Lowe, 1989: Found in Arizona and New Mexico. Poorly defined; subspecies not recognized by Collins.
Mountain Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans elegans (Baird and Girard, 1853): Found in California, Nevada and Oregon.
San Pedro Mártir Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans hueyi (Van Denburgh and Slevin, 1923): Found in Baja California.
Coast Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans terrestris Fox, 1951: Found along the Pacific coast of California and Oregon. Subspecies not recognized by Collins.
Wandering Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans vagrans (Baird and Girard, 1853): The subspecies with the broadest distribution.
Upper Basin Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans vascotanneri Tanner and Lowe, 1989: Found in Utah and along Utah's borders with Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming. Poorly defined; subspecies not recognized by Collins.

Klamath Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans biscutatus (Cope, 1883): Population now considered intergrades of T. e. elegans and T. e. vagrans.
Mexican Wandering Garter Snake Thamnophis elegans errans H. M. Smith, 1942: Now considered a separate species, T. errans.
(No common name found) Thamnophis elegans nigrescens Johnson, 1947: Dark Puget Sound area populations now considered T. e. vagrans.

Some Notes on Wandering Garter Snakes, Thamnophis elegans vagrans: They may not win many beauty contests, but they’re one of the best garter snakes to keep in captivity. (June 3, 2004)