Garter Snake Sticker

Garter Snake - Thamnophis Sirtalis

This harmless striped snake is a common snake found in North America. It can survive in various habitats but is almost always found near a water source. Their diet consists of just about anything they can overpower, which includes frogs, frog eggs, lizards, rodents, leeches, minnows, and even earthworms.

Being such small predators, they face several threats themselves. Hawks, herons, egrets, raccoons, otters, and even larger frogs and shrews will prey upon garter snakes. If the garter snake can't escape a predator on land, one self-defense mechanism the Garter snake has is the ability to discharge a foul, musky-smelling secretion.

Contrary to popular belief, Garter snakes are not non-venomous. They possess the ability to secrete a neurotoxin, but it is so mild that they cannot effectively deliver the toxin with their bite to begin with. The worst a garter snake can do to a human is cause some swelling or bruising from their bite. Additionally, Garter snakes have co-evolved alongside poisonous newts (which they hunt) to resist tetrodotoxin. Since they consume their prey whole, any poisonous newt eaten by a Garter snake can remain in their stomach for days, making the snake both poisonous and venomous.