I am having extreme difficulty distinguishing between these two snakes. Any help? I have read that ribbons have a back stripe and two side stripes. But the same is ssaid about garters:wall: . Any one know a fail-proof way to ID the two different snakes?
Garter vs. Ribbon
- Thread starter J.huff23
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- Jul 8, 2006
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Telling these two apart in the field can be tricky with only a quick glance, as they do appear similar. However, I would describe garter snakes as being a bit more stout bodied than ribbon snakes. That is, ribbon snakes are extremely slender. In addition, the longitudinal stripes on ribbon snakes are a bit more pronounced. The colors on a ribbon snake are very bright (assuming the snake isn't about to shed) as compared to a garter snake. Hope this helps!