35 Different Types of Garter Snakes

Garter snakes are common snakes found in gardens and backyards throughout the United States.  When you find one of these snakes in your garden, how do you identify them?  In this post, we list all the types of Garter snakes.

Thirty-five species of Garter snakes are found in North America, Quebec, Southern Ontario, and the Gulf of Mexico. They are the Common, Sierra, Butler’s, Santa Cruz, Mexican, Western Terrestrial, Short-headed, Bogert’s, Goldman’s, Checkered, Plains, and Northwestern Garter snakes, to name a few.

Garter snakes are intriguing and a vital part of the ecosystem.  If you want to know how many species exist, look no further; they are all listed here.

The 35 Types of Garter Snakes

Bogert’s Garter Snake – Thamnophis bogerti

Santa Cruz Garter Snake – Thamnophis atratus 

Butler’s Garter Snake – Thamnophis butleri

Common Garter Snake – Thamnophis sirtalis 

Short-headed Garter Snake – Thamnophis brachystoma 

Conant’s Garter Snake – Thamnophis conanti

Golden-headed Garter Snake – Thamnophis chrysocephalus

Black-necked Garter Snake – Thamnophis cyrtopsis

Western Terrestrial Garter Snake – Thamnophis elegans

Sierra Garter Snake – Thamnophis couchii 

Mexican Garter Snake – Thamnophis eques

Exiled Garter Snake – Thamnophis exsul

Mexican Wandering Garter Snake – Thamnophis errans 

Giant Garter Snake – Thamnophis gigas

Mesoamerican Highlands Garter Snake – Thamnophis fulvus 

Godman’s Garter Snake – Thamnophis godmani

Sumichrast’s Garter Snake – Thamnophis sumichrasti  

Two-striped Garter Snake – Thamnophis hammondii

Checkered Garter Snake – Thamnophis marcianus

Liner’s Garter Snake – Thamnophis lineri

Plains Garter Snake – Thamnophis radix

Madrean Narrow-headed Garter Snake – Thamnophis unilabialis 

Tamaulipan Montane Garter Snake – Thamnophis mendax

Mexican Alpine Blotched Garter Snake – Thamnophis scalaris 

Southern Durango Spotted Garter Snake – Thamnophis nigronuchalis

Tepalcatepec Valley Garter Snake – Thamnophis postremus

Northwestern Garter Snake – Thamnophis ordinoides

Western Ribbon Snake – Thamnophis proximus

Rossman’s Garter Snake – Thamnophis rossmani

Eastern Ribbon Snake – Thamnophis sauritus

Mesa Central Blotched Garter Snake – Thamnophis scaliger

Narrow-headed Garter Snake – Thamnophis rufipunctatus 

Mexican Pacific Lowlands Garter Snake – Thamnophis validus

Mexican Black-bellied Garter Snake – Thamnophis melanogaster

Yellow-throated Garter Snake – Thamnophis pulchrilatus 

The Garter Snake, the Most Common Type
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