Description: The common garter snake and it's cousin, the plains garter snake, are medium-sized snakes reaching up to 3 feet in length. Medium-sized snakes reaching up to 3 feet in length. [They are] black with three, yellow lengthwise stripes on their back and sides. (MN DNR, 2022)
Food: Garter snakes eat a varied diet including frogs, small mammals, earthworms and insects. (MN DNR, 2022)
Habitat: Garter snakes are found throughout Minnesota. During the winter, to keep from freezing, they hibernate below the frost line. They usually find a rock crevice, an ant mound or a tunnel made by a burrowing animal. These winter dens are used by garter snakes year after year. (MN DNR, 2022)
Reproduction: Garter snakes give birth to their young, typically in August or September. Baby garters live on their own after birth, and more than half die before they are a year old. (MN DNR, 2022)
Conservation Status: Garter snakes are important because they eat destructive rodents (mice) and should not be killed. They have no special status in Minnesota. (MN DNR, 2022)
