Thanks everyone!

Kibakiba - Thank you - I agree, he's gorgeous! The little garters we used to find as kids down in southern california were never so colorful and pretty!

Don - Thanks for the info about eye size - good to know! I know the orange is often found in zaxanthus, but I've also read that you can find it on mountains and giants too (though on giants it's usually towards the northern end of their range, while the farther south giants have much less color.)

Zooplan - I want to count the verticals... but i'm still confused on exactly how to do it. Plus this snake is still super antsy and uncomfortable with being held, I don't want to stress him out by holding him down long enough to count.

ConcinnusMan - While at first I thought it was a zaxanthus as well, their range is NOT where I live - their range is much more towards the coast, whereas I live very close to the Sierras. Yes, there's a chance some stray zaxanthus's came all the way out this way. But I compared the zaxanthus vs. e. elegans vs. gigas Upper Labials and came to the conclusion that it's gotta be a elegans or gigas, definitely not Zax. My guy's 6th and 7th upper labials are enlarged - indicitive of elegans or gigas, but not zax. Also, zax internasals are longer than wide, and have pointed fronts... whereas my guy has wide non-pointed internasals, which again are elegans or gigas. Are you interested in zaxanthus in particular, or e. elegans as well? Your picture of a zax is BEAUTIFUL by the way!