| Their diet consists of almost any creature that they are capable of overpowering: slugs, earthworms, insects, leeches, lizards, spiders, amphibians, birds, fish and rodents. When living near the water, they will eat other aquatic animals. Garter snakes can be found in forests and fields, usually around wetlands. |
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During mating season, the males mate with several females. Males come out of their dens and, as soon as the females begin coming out, surround them. Female garter snakes produce a sex-specific pheromone that attracts male snakes in droves, sometimes leading to intense male-male competition and the formation of mating balls of up to 100 males per female. After copulation, a female leaves the den/mating area to find food and a place to give birth. Female garter snakes are able to store the male's sperm for years before fertilization. Garter snakes are ovoviviparous, meaning they give birth to live young. Gestation is two to three months in most species. As few as 3 or as many as 50 snakes are born in a single litter. The babies are independent upon birth. Garter snakes are eaten by raptors, bullfrogs, mammals such as skunks, raccoons, mink, fox, badgers, and sometimes by other snakes. |
| · Each live-born baby snake is born in a very thin, clear transparent “baggie,” but quickly wiggles out · Some winter snake dens (or hibernacula) contain as many as 10,000 garter snakes · People often call garter snakes, gardner or garden snakes |
