Rare melanistic Northwestern Garter

[TripleT]

OK so I know these are not all that rare in the Eastern version but as far as I know this the 3rd pic/sighting(by different people with pics) ever of a melanistic Northwestern Garter.
I took this guy inside for a pic an relocated him to another location(free of cats).
I personally have seen 4 of these in the same location.
They tend to have blueish belly scales.

Enjoy !

 

[Nanci]

That is really cool!!! Really, really cool!!!

 

[dionythicus]

That's a garter I'd love to own!

 

[vetusvates]

Very very interesting. I wonder, are they in an (at least somewhat) isolated locale?

 

[martin-bernstein]

Awesome! Lucky duck.

 

[Petruga]

Yeah i catch those all the time in the groups of 30s. there are only to places in canada to catch them. and a few in the states. they are isolated

 

[El Jefe]

NICE! Are they in captivity anywhere?

 

[alan]

Good looking garter!
I've never seen one in the wild. Our easterns are quite varied; brown, green, straw-colored; but they all have some kind of pattern.

 

[tspuckler]

Scott Felzer works with Melanistic Wandering Garters:

http://www.albinogartersnake.com/

 

[RavenSpirit360]

Very cool....!!!

 

[wstphal]

Neat! I would love one of those someday!

 

[wax32]

Very cool!

 

[pgr8dnlvr]

Heh, cool pic! Didn't know they were "rare" though, guess I'm lucky. I live in BC and family lives up on Sunshine Coast peninsula and I have seen these three or four times on different beaches up there. Twice they were eating fish in tide pools on the beach..

I'll have to snap a pic I guess!

Rebecca

 

[goldelx6]

Scott Felzer works with Melanistic Wandering Garters:

http://www.albinogartersnake.com/

AAAAWWWW i want one! they are CUTIES!

 

[TripleT]

Just to clarify this is Thamnophis ordinoides, not Thamnophis elegans vagrans(or Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis).