[GarterGuy]

Yeh, you're right James.....T. rufipunctatus is a New Mexico/Mexico species. As far as them being available.....probably not going to happen. I believe they are a protected species in their Norht American habitats and as we've found out before, everything in Mexico is protected. If found, this species is primarily a fish eater....living more like a watersnake then a garter snake (although I've heard of people getting various species of water snakes to take scented mice as well). If you're really just looking for a "pet" snake, you're best off getting a nice captive bred individual of one of the commonly bred species, like T.s.sirtalis, T.s.concinnus, T.s.parietalis, ect. These would be very used to being in captive conditions and taking captive diets.
Roy