New garter - I just couldn't help myself

[EasternGirl]

Yeah...looking back at Chris' pick...I can't see the tail...but the head doesn't say ribbon to me. But I don't know. I'm dumbfounded at this point. I would ask Joe.

[snakehill]

Richard would probably know too!

[gregmonsta]

Not a ribbon ... it still says parietalis to me

[EasternGirl]

Really? Don't they have red in them? All of the ones I have seen have red. Isn't that what Nate, John, Ashley and Kat have? Because it doesn't look like their snakes.

[EasternGirl]

It looks kind of like a Butlers...but it's too big to be a Butlers...

[gregmonsta]

Really? Don't they have red in them? All of the ones I have seen have red. Isn't that what Nate, John, Ashley and Kat have? Because it doesn't look like their snakes.

answer

no absolutes with garters but you do get lots of parietalis with little or no red, i have always had the impression that the further north you go the less red seem to present itself, there are obviously many exceptions but i have always believed this rule of thumb......besides wait till you get a good meal inside him and i am pretty sure you will start to see some red

.... page 1 of thread ... when I picked Slithers out of a litter he was one of 3 parietalis in a litter of 20+ that showed any red -



So if this guy was the 'pick of the bunch' for red can you imagine what the rest where like?

And no ... it's not a butlers either ... you 100% cannot get those in the UK ...

[EasternGirl]

I love that name...Slithers. Well, yeah...I knew it was too long to be a Butlers. Maybe it is a parietalis then. I'd still like to see some more pics...some up close shots of the patterns. But the stripes fit...and it doesn't look like any easterns I've seen. Again..you know parietalis...I've never seen one in person.

[chris-uk]

Thanks for the input so far.

I'm looking at the consensus and at the moment female parietalis seems to be it. We've been out all day today, but tomorrow I will get some better photos in daylight.

I've just been talking to Pinjohn, and what he's been telling me about parietalis ties in with Greg's post about them not always having red (or in fact that high red is the exception).

[kibakiba]

Not all easterns look the same, you have to remember too. They look different from area to area

[EasternGirl]

Right...if you look back over the thread...Chantel...I was realizing that as I was doing more and more research on easterns in different parts of the country...but they still tend to have certain similarities that remain constant...such as the checkered pattern under the dorsal stripe, the three stripes, and the coloring tends to be brown, tan, or green...although it can vary in shade. I also wanted to add that I mispoke earlier...Kat and Ashley have northwesterns, not red-sided garters. Well...if it is a parietalis, Chris..that is a wonderful snake to have. They are lovely. Good work, Greg, in figuring that one out. This was an awesome thread...I enjoyed all the research I did on easterns...I ended up learning even more about my favorite garter...and more about some of the other species as well.