Red rum

[zonbonzovi]

OK, boring garter shots. Probably Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringi. What's your point, zon?

Wait a minute, are those red highlights?

Sibling

These two were part of a gaggle of garters with mostly white and/or blue striping/ventral coloration & one that had bright gold stripes against the typical black. I've never seen such bold reds on garters here before, though. Usually just very light speckling, if anything.

 

[satchellwk]

Those are some beauties you got there zon, was any of this red seen on the parents? Also, what area did the parents (or whatever the first wild specimen) originate from?

 

[loxoscelesfear]

awesome looking Thams. not boring @ all. Post more western herp pics!

 

[zonbonzovi]

@satch: I only briefly caught a glimpse of a large garter with a prominent red stripe but no other red markings. This is a wild population living in abandoned concrete chunks thatched over with grass at the entrance to a local mountain bike path. I suspect there is a lot more color variation hiding within...N. Pierce Co., WA.

@loxo: I'll post a couple later...nothin' too fancy. Been a quiet year for herps here.

There are a couple areas where I find big mating "balls" this time of year. I may look to see what's hiding there.