The northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America.
Geographic range In the United States, T. ordinoides is found in California, Oregon, and Washington; in Canada, it is found in British Columbia.
Description The northwestern garter snake is small, with adults averaging around in total length (including tail).Stebbins RC (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xiii + 533 pp., 56 color plates. . (Thamnophis ordinoides, pp. 386–387 + Plate 50 + Map 169). Its color and scale patterns are varied and can include small dark spots. Common vertebral stripe colors are white, yellow, orange, red, green, turquoise, and blue.
Habitat The northwestern garter snake is primarily found on the edges of meadows surrounded by forest,Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (Thamnophis ordinoides, pp. 248–249). as the species requires a fair amount of sunlight for its survival. In British Columbia it can also be commonly found near bodies of both freshwater and saltwater, where it hunts small fish and amphibians. In scenarios in which it is too hot outside, these snakes can also be found under stumps and rocks in order to shield themselves from the sunlight.
Diet T. ordinoides preys on slugs, salamanders, and frogs.Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: ComstockPublishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes), 305 figures. (Thamnophis ordinoides, pp. 806-810, Figure 233 + Map 57 on p. 756).
References
Further reading Baird SF, Girard CF (1852). "Descriptions of new species of Reptiles, collected by the U. S. Exploring Expedition under the command of Capt. Charles Wilkes, U. S. N." Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 6: 174–177. (Tropidonotus ordinoides, new species, p. 176). Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp., 657 plates. . (Thamnophis ordinoides, pp. 669–670 + Plate 512). Smith HM; Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. . (Thamnophis ordinoides, pp. 150–151).
External links Photo galleries and species account at California Herps