Hello, my name is Kristian and I live in Mesa, AZ. I grew up north of Chicago, Il. and had an absolute passion for snakes, especially garter snakes. Then I moved to Seattle and would catch my fair share of northwestern garters (some where melanistic). Then I ended up moving to Sacramento, Ca. and found Valley garters and one giant garter. I would also find a bunch of Cal. Kings and gophers.
While living in California I had acquired a group of Oregon red-spotteds that ended up having a bunch of babies. I would also go out to the coast in Marin county and try to catch the California red-sided (no luck), but did find some very pretty coastal garters.
I currently do not have any garters, but will likely get some in the near future. I have found some dead on the road Blackneck garters near where I go camping. Maybe I will catch one this spring. Here are some pics of some of my garters in the past.
Pic. of Coastal
Pic. of Oregon Red spotted

And a pic of me with a nice gopher