The common garter snake is a slim, striped snake of wet meadows, pond edges and forest openings, often seen basking or slipping into the grass along trails near water. It is harmless to people. Of Oregon’s native snakes, only the western rattlesnake has venom that is dangerous to humans.
Its coloring varies a great deal. Most have three lengthwise stripes, usually yellow, on a black, brown, gray or greenish body, and many show red spots along the sides. The stripe down the center of the back is the most dependable mark. The stripes also break up the snake’s outline, making it harder for predators to follow as it moves.
Garter snakes hunt by day using sight and smell. Young snakes eat mostly earthworms, while adults take frogs, toads, salamanders, slugs, leeches, fish, small mammals and other snakes. Common garter snakes have evolved resistance to the nerve toxin of the rough-skinned newt, so they can eat a prey animal that few others can.
They spend winter in dens under rocks and other cover, sometimes in large groups that include other snake species, and come out again in spring. Females give birth to live young, often 15 to 40 at a time, rather than laying eggs.
How to identify it
A slender snake up to about 34 inches long, with a head a little wider than the neck, ridged scales and usually three yellow stripes on a dark body, often with red spots on the sides. Color varies widely, but a clear stripe down the middle of the back is the best clue.
Habitat
Moist, grassy places near ponds, lakes, streams and wet meadows, as well as forest edges, open valleys and moist conifer forest. It shelters under rocks, logs and other cover.
Sightings in the forest
288 research-grade sightings in Mt. Hood National Forest on iNaturalist, most recently on October 20, 2026. See them on iNaturalist →