Pacific Northwest
Reptiles & Amphibians
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Northwestern Gartersnake - Thamnophis ordinoides
(Baird and Girard, 1852)
Related or Similar Northwest Snakes
T. e. vagrans - Wandering Gartersnake
T. s. fitchi - Valley Gartersnake
T. s. pickeringii - Puget Sound Gartersnake
T. s. concinnus - Red-spotted Gartersnake
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| Adult, Thurston County, Washington |
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| Adult, Thurston County, Washington |
Adult, Benton County, Oregon | Adult, Mason County, Washington | |
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| Sub-adult, Thurston County, Washington |
Single-striped sub-adult, Multnomah County, Oregon |
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| Adult, Kittitas County, Washington | |||
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| The Northwestern Gartersnake rages just barely east of the Cascades through Snoqualmie pass, White pass, and the Columbia River Gorge. This snake and the one above were found east of Snoqualmie Pass near Cle Elum, Kittitas County, Washington, at the easternmost part of their range. | Reddish-striped juvenile, Mt. Rainier, 3,200 ft., Pierce County, WA |
Single-striped adult, Multnomah County, Oregon |
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| Red-striped adult, Hood River County, Oregon | Adult, Pierce County, Washington | ||
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| Adult, Thurston County, Washington |
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| Adult, Thurston County, Washington | Adult basking in situ next to a creek in Mason County, Washington in early May. | ||
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| Adult with gold stripe, King County, Washington | Adult, South Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada © Thomas Martin | ||
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| Large old adult, Snohomish County, Washington | Young of the year, District of Central Saanich, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada © Guntram Deichsel | ||
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| Melanistic blue-striped adult from King County, Washington © Filip Tkaczyk | Adult with blue stripes © Jeremiah Easter |
Adult, Thurston County, Washington © Zach Lim |
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| This adult from Pierce County, Washington, is colored with red all over, including the underside. © H. Stern | Adult, Pacific County, Washington | ||
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| Stripe-less adult, northeast Clallam County, Washington © Mario Ramos | Stripe-less adult, southwest Clallam County coast, Washington © Mario Ramos | ||
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| Adult, King County, Washington | |||
| Identification Tip | |||
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| Looking at the top of the heads can help to identify these sympatric species: T. sirtalis - Common Gartersnake (Left) has a larger longer head with bigger eyes than T. ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake (Right.) © Filip Tkaczyk |
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| Habitat | |||
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| Habitat, Benton County, Oregon | Habitat, Multnomah County, Oregon | Habitat, Mima mound prairie, Thurston County, Washington |
Habitat, Thurston County, Washington |
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| Habitat, Pierce County, Washington | Habitat, Kittitas County, Washington | Habitat, Mt. Rainier, 3,200 ft., Pierce County, WA |
Habitat, Pierce County, Washington |
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| Habitat, Mima mound prairie, Thurston County, Washington |
Habitat, Multnomah County, Oregon | Habitat, Pacific County, Washington | |
| Short Videos | |||
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| A Northwestern Gartersnake on the move. | Common Sharp-tailed Snakes are found under objects in Washington State, and two of the flips also turn up Northwestern Gartersnakes with the sharp-tails. | ||
Northwest Reptiles and Amphibians
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