Pacific Northwest
Reptiles & Amphibians

Valley Gartersnake - Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi

Fox, 1951

Click on a picture for a larger view.

Orange = range of T. s. fitchi
Click map to enlarge and see key to other subspecies


Adult, Klickitat County, Washington

	Adult, Klickitat County, Washington

Adult, Klickitat County, Washington	Adult, Klickitat County, Washington	Adult, Klickitat County, Washington

Juvenile, Kittitas County, Washington	Adult with considerable red coloring on the side of the head, Skagit County, Washington © Zachary Lim	In some areas, Valley Gartersnakes overwinter in large groups. Here you can see a mass emergence of Valley Gartersnakes and Wandering Gartersnakes in early May, Lincoln County, Wyoming. © Leslie Schreiber

Adult, Pacific County, Washington	Adult, Pacific County, Washington	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

Habitat

Snake in habitat, 4,100 ft., Kittitas County, Washington	Snake in habitat, Klickitat County, Washington	Habitat, Klickitat County, Washington

Habitat, Kittitas County, Washington	Habitat, Klickitat County, Washington	Habitat, Pacific County, Washington

Short Video

A Valley Gartersnake is discovered resting in the sun near the edge of a mountain pond which is still half-surrounded by snow. When I get too close, the snake races off, showing the speed with which this gartersnake can crawl and swim to safety.