Thamnophis hammondii
—
Two-striped Gartersnake
We watched this very aquatic snake go about its business for ten or fifteen minutes. It would warm up on an exposed rock (as shown), then slip into the water to poke around the rocks at the bottom of the stream, presumably looking for tasty underwater morsels, then slide back up on another exposed rock for more thermoregulation.
Printed references:
- Bartlett, R. D., Tennant, A. 2000. Snakes of North America, Western Region
- Behler, J. L., King, F. W. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles & Amphibians
- Brown, P. R. 1997. A Field Guide to Snakes of California
- Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, Eighth Edition
- Smith, H. M., Brodie, E. D. Jr. 1982. Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification
- Stebbins, R. C. 2003. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition