New garter - I just couldn't help myself

[chris-uk]

Good point Marnie. I've not seen her spending time on the warm side. I'll try turning the warm side down.
In the shop the reptile room was kept pretty warm, and unless they had UTH (which I doubt because the ambient temp was warm and humid) the only way the garters could have thermoregulate was with the water. Perhaps she isn't used to the idea of a temperature gradient.

[ConcinusMan]

As chris pointed out, scale counts only confirm that its a sirtalis. That's what makes it a sirtalis. The scale counts. As far as the upper labials go, it can be 7 or 8. I often find sirtalis' that have 7 on one side, 8 on the other.

I said I'd get some better photos, so here's some from this evening (unfortunately not in good daylight, but at least taken with the camera on macro, as opposed to quick camera shots).
You can see that there is absolutely no pattern in the black stripes. Colour-wise, I'd described the dorsal stripe as being more grey than anything, in better light there is a yellow tinge to it. There's definitely no red, even between the scales.

Anyway, the photos (click to enlarge):











Hope you like Nobby, s/he's a good looking snake. Unfortunately the vent photos I tried weren't any better than the one I've already posted. I think we'll let Nobby grow a bit before we try with new photos.

I still say it's a T. s. parietalis in spite of the lack of red.

[ConcinusMan]

Steve has some awesome photos of red sided garters in Canada, some of them completely lacking red. Take a look at them.




Maybe that will rest your mind that your snake is a red sided (T. s. parietalis) http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/4792-narcisse-dens-4.html

[mikem]

Mike...I am not that much older than you...Farrah Fawcett! Charlie's Angels? Her boyfriend...husband...whatever. Tatum O'Neil's father. Played Temperence Brennan's father on Bones. Sorry Chris...but come on people! Ryan O' Neil!

i'm familiar with farrah fawcett. i recognize the name and know she did bay watch. i just looked up the filmography of tatum, ryan o'neal and farrah fawcett.. i haven't seen anything they're in, lol

[ConcinusMan]

Wow, way off topic but I have to brag a little. I have a near mint condition Playboy magazine Dec 1978. It was already a collectors item but after she died it quadrupled in value.

Same thing happened to the Anna Nichole issue when she died. I just happen to have that one too. Never opened. Pages never touched by human fingers.

I was very young but I have to admit I was a huge "Bay Watch" fan too.

Farrah Fawcett was a sex symbol of the 1970's way before Bay Watch.

[aquamentus_11]

my dad and i used to watch Baywatch when I was a kid. it was one of the few things that brought us together during the middle school years. preteen angst is no match for boobs

[EasternGirl]

Yeah...I was going to say...When was Farrah on Baywatch? Wasn't she a bit old for that? Are you thinking of Pamela Anderson?

[RedSidedSPR]

It is a parietalis no doubt in my mind. It looks just like one, minus the red.

[mikem]

Yeah...I was going to say...When was Farrah on Baywatch? Wasn't she a bit old for that? Are you thinking of Pamela Anderson?

i mean charlie's angels . don't know where i got baywatch from.

[RedSidedSPR]

Lmfao I was like wtf...