Garter Snake

Just when I think I can leave this topic of how cold blooded animals survive the winter and move on Carol said what about our garter snake that for the past couple years has hung around our garden box?

Back to the research and I found that they will use a rodent tunnel or hide under a pile of rocks or a stump to hibernate. They get their moisture through their skin and don't eat as their metabolism has slowed down so much that they can't digest their food. The live off stored fat and ours had a good hiding place under our garden box. We haven't seen this snake though since the wildfire.

If they can find other snakes they coil together to conserve body heat. I doubt our lone garter snake had any snake friends as rattle snakes and most other snakes don't generally go above 9,200' elevation in cold climates. There are plenty of them in the valley but we have never seen one at our elevation.

When I was in Junior High School as a reckless kid I had a garter snake that stayed around our house so one day thinking like a kid I put him in my tee shirt and took him to school for a later science class I had. I didn't want him squirming around next to my body all day so I put him in my locker. Later that morning I heard screams coming from the hall way when he got out of my locker. He was finally corralled and located at a new location which I hope he liked. Fortunately school authorities thought it funny but today I would have been expelled or worse. Garter snakes are harmless and beneficial to keeping mice and other small rodent populations in check.