Biology

Although most people think of garter snakes as commonplace animals, they have a unique biology that makes them able to thrive in so many different environments. Listed below are some neat little factoids that may help explain some of the more interesting qualities of garter snake life and behavior.

• Unlike most snakes, garter snakes do not lay eggs! They give birth to live young in individual egg yolk sacs which are broken immediately after birth.

• Garter snakes are technically not venemous, however their saliva does contain chemicals which can sometimes cause allergic reactions in a very small amount of people.

• Garter snakes digest their food with the help of e.coli bacteria, so -as is the practice with all reptiles- be sure to wash your hands after handling your animals!

• You cannot tell how old a snake is based on how many times it has shed. Shedding is a product of growth which is based on nutrition and health, not neccessarily of age.

• What's that smell?! Have you ever handled a garter snake only to notice an acrid smell left behind? What your snake has done is called musking. Much like a skunk will spray a predator to get them to stop hunting it, a snake will musk in the hopes that the smell will distract a predator. The smell fades rather quickly, but it takes several washings with soap to get it out right away.

• Many people think that snakes have no skeleton, much like an earthworm. Snakes have a very intricate skeleton consisting of very flexible vertebrae, and a huge number of ribs! The bones of the skull are also not fused together, allowing the snake to unhinge its jaw and distort its skull to swallow large prey items. This delicate skeleton makes them prone to permanent mobility problems if bones are broken, especially the backbones.

• Garter snakes typically mate immediately after coming out of brumation in the springtime. In the northeast US and southeast Canada, the 'mating balls' that form around snake dens attract tourists every year, and it is illegal for most people to collect snakes from such locations.

• In order to prevent masses of snakes from streaming across roadways after they emerge from brumation, several special concrete 'snake tunnels' have been built under roadways in the northeastern US.

• Think you can change your snake's bad behavior by scolding it? Think again. Like all snakes, garters have no ears! They sense the approach of threatening objects by feeling vibrations in the ground with their long bodies, instead of hearing them. This is why many pet stores encourage you not to tap on the glass of their snake tanks.