Last Wild Garter of the Year Contest

[Thamnophis]

I am afraid that I will not see any garters in the wild in Holland.

[Stefan-A]

I am afraid that I will not see any garters in the wild in Holland.

Don't worry. Just travel to Halland (Sweden). There's reportedly a wild T. sirtalis parietalis population in that area.

[Thamnophis]

Don't worry. Just travel to Halland (Sweden). There's reportedly a wild T. sirtalis parietalis population in that area.

Really... ?

Do you have more info on that?

I have often said to my colleagues in the Reptile Zoo that it is amazing that there are no population of Thamnophis living in the wild in the Netherlands.
I know of Pantherophis guttatus that they can survive the whole year in our country, but it is difficult to reproduce because our summers are to short to incubate he eggs.
And that is no problem with Thamnophis because of their live-giving birth.
There must be escaped specimen here that survidec over longer time. Maybe tey did not find a partner. It's just a matter of time that a pregnant female escapes somewhere.

[Stefan-A]

Really... ?

Do you have more info on that?

I have often said to my colleagues in the Reptile Zoo that it is amazing that there are no population of Thamnophis living in the wild in the Netherlands.
I know of Pantherophis guttatus that they can survive the whole year in our country, but it is difficult to reproduce because our summers are to short to incubate he eggs.
And that is no problem with Thamnophis because of their live-giving birth.
There must be escaped specimen here that survidec over longer time. Maybe tey did not find a partner. It's just a matter of time that a pregnant female escapes somewhere.

Really.

I haven't really seen any big stories about the Halland population, but I have seen several fairly credible sources mention it and a few eyewitness accounts. I think it's been mentioned more than once in the Swedish media.

As for thamnophis in Europe, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a wild population elsewhere too. I've heard that the red-eared sliders (another North American species) are pretty much thriving in certain places in western Europe. Just judging by the common garter snake's diet and how far north they have spread in North America, I'd say they should be able to survive anywhere the grass snake (Natrix natrix) can. But what do I know, I'm not an expert.