Common garter snake Facts for Kids
Thamnophis sirtalis · THAM-noh-fis sir-TAY-lis
A striped backyard snake that gives birth to live babies.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ weight: not yet checked
- 📏 18 to 30 in46 to 76 cm1 long
- 🎂 4 to 10 years4 to 10 years2
- 🍽️ meat
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
Garter snakes are small snakes with stripes down their backs. They live in gardens and fields. They eat worms and slugs, so they are friends to gardeners.
A garter snake flicks its tongue to smell its way to worms, slugs and frogs. If it feels scared, it may wiggle away or give off a smelly liquid. Garter snakes are not dangerous to people.
Garter snakes are among the most common snakes in North America, and the mothers give birth to live babies instead of laying eggs. As reptiles, they warm up by lying in the sun. In winter they rest in underground dens, sometimes with many other garter snakes to stay warm. In a few places in Canada, big crowds of them come out of their dens together in spring.
How big is a common garter snake?
Common garter snake in numbers
| Length | 18 to 30 in46 to 76 cm1total length |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | no checked number yet |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 4 to 10 years4 to 10 years2in the wild |
| What it eats | earthworms, slugs, frogs, tadpoles and small fish |
| Where it lives | gardens, meadows, woods and wetlands across most of North America |
| What kind | Reptiles |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)3 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- It uses its tongue to smell.
- In winter, many garter snakes sleep together in underground dens.
- It can give off a smelly liquid when it is scared.
Compare the common garter snake
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Books about the common garter snake, free at the library
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Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Jewel Cave, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Klamath Network, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Common garter snake (Q911786), checked 30 October 2026.