Plains (Prairie) Garter Snake - the largest garter I have ever caught!

Plains garter snake I caught in Lloydminster.  Top center - a dead one I found at Cypress Hills.

I have never been bitten by a snake before.  Well, that's not quite true.  I have a corn snake at home and it did once get a hold of me.  But today was the first time that a wild snake ever laid teeth on me, and it drew blood.  I can't say that I am very surprised by that.  Small snakes tend to not be very aggressive, and this was the largest snake I have ever caught - of any species.  I had heard that large garters can be aggressive and bite.  Today, I can confirm that hypothesis.

It actually lunged for me a couple of times, missing my nose by a few inches once and other bodily parts other times.  I held it for a few minutes and then released it back where I found it.  Although I often catch snakes, they always get released and I handle them gently, even when they bite me.  Snakes do carry Salmonella; I have been made ill by breathing in the bedding dust from my own snake when I changed out the cage (I wear a mask now).  The time I was bitten there was no after affects.  I do not expect any this time.

The top center picture is one I took while visiting Cypress Hills last week.  Some kids found a dead snake and I talked to them about how it was killed.  I have a post on that (click here).  They are both the same species of snake, plains garters.  They can get up to a meter in length, and I think the one I caught today was just about that long.  They can live up to 10 years.  My corn snake at home is over 20 years now.  It is also quite a bit longer, probably 1.5 meters.

My apologies to anyone who is afraid of snakes and saw the post and was startled.  There will be another one tomorrow.

Thanks for reading (and looking).

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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