Biggest Garters

[Sid]

Open link below for an unusually marked 39 inch Eastern Garter. My largest by far.

MySpace.com - View Image

Sid

[abcat1993]

What attachment?

[KITKAT]

My Florida Blue female was 36 inches long, and had a large section of her tail missing from a lawnmower. She was WC, and I kept her for a time, then gave her to a friend in Florida, as she was too old to breed.

[abcat1993]

Do you have a pic of her with you or something to compare it to?
I am a juvenile snake now!

[abcat1993]

Are eastern garter snakes the biggest type of garter? If not what is? Just wondering how big mine will get

[Cazador]

I was just reading a book last night that said T. gigas normally only lives to be 5-7 years old in captivity, compared to a normal lifespan of about 10 years for most other species. This is a common phenomenon, where larger organisms in a clade have reduced lifespans.

[abcat1993]

Where can you find these for sale? I probably wouldn't get one but I thought they were threatened? Although I think the california red sided or some other popular California garter is threatened/endangered.

[Cazador]

I doubt you'd find T. gigas for sale. They only live in California and are currently threatened. The CA red sided is abundant, but the San Fransisco garter (T.s. tetrataenia) is on the California and Federal Endangered Species List. Here's a web page to give you some info about T. gigas. Cheers,
Rick

[abcat1993]

I don't see a link. The San Fransisco garter is what I was trying to say (or thinking of). But aren't they illegal to own in the US without a permit or something?

[Cazador]

Oops. Here you go, and yes, they're illegal to own in the U.S. without a special permit.

Thamnophis gigas - Giant Gartersnake