Mexican Gartersnake

Mexican Gartersnake

Thamnophis eques

Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Mexico City

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

76 Verified sightings at Mexico City
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Mexican Gartersnake

The Mexican garter snake (Thamnophis eques) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. It is found in Mexico and in the United States (Arizona and New Mexico). This harmless snake is semi-aquatic and most of the 10 recognized subspecies are restricted to lake basins in Mexico.

This snake ranges in habitat from deserts and sky island forests of Arizona and New Mexico to the thornscrub and rainforests of Mexico. One subspecies, the Lake Chapala garter snake (T. e. obscurus), is endemic to Lake Chapala.

This snake is a generalist carnivore, feeding on a wide variety of prey, such as lizards, frogs, toads, tadpoles, fish, and even from time to time earthworms, snails, insects, and small mammals. In north-central Arizona, Northern Mexican garter snake potential aquatic prey captured during minnow trap surveys include nonnative species such as western mosquitofish, red shiners, green sunfish, bluegills, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, yellow bullheads, black bullheads, common carp, and American bullfrogs (tadpoles, juveniles and subadults). As well as native species such as Woodhouse’s toads (tadpoles, juveniles and adults) and Sonora mud turtles (hatchlings).

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Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Toluca 🇲🇽 México
~20%
2 Mexico City 🇲🇽 México
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Mexican Gartersnake in Mexico City?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Gartersnake sighting in Mexico City on a given day, based on 76 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 12th most-seen of the 37 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Mexican Gartersnake in Mexico City?

March to September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mexican Gartersnake in Mexico City on a given day, against under 5% in October to February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Mexican Gartersnake?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mexican Gartersnake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Mexico City the best place to see a Mexican Gartersnake?

2nd of 2

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Mexican Gartersnake sightings, Mexico City ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Toluca (México, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Mexican Gartersnake live in Mexico City?

Same genus: Thamnophis

The closest relatives of the Mexican Gartersnake that you can see in Mexico City (genus Thamnophis, Garter Snakes) are Blackbelly Garter Snake (about 10%) and Short-tail Alpine Garter Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Mexican Gartersnake sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Mexican Gartersnake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Mexico City (76 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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