The Ribbon Snake or Ribbonsnake (Thamnophis sauritus) is a common snake found throughout North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. It averages 16 – in length and is a member of the garter snake

Garter snake

The Garter snake is a Colubrid snake genus common across North America, ranging from Alaska and Canada to Central America. It is the single most widely distributed genus of reptile in North America. The garter snake is also the Massachusettsstate reptile.There is no real consensus on the...

 genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

. There are four subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of ribbon snake:

• Eastern Ribbon Snake
  Eastern Ribbon Snake
  The Eastern Ribbon Snake or Common Ribbon Snake is a subspecies of ribbon snake found in the northeastern United States....
  
   – Thamnophis sauritus sauritus - brownish back, range extends from New York to Florida, west to the Mississippi River.
• Northern Ribbon Snake – Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis
  Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis
  The Northern Ribbon Snake is a subspecies of garter snake. It is one of four subspecies of the Ribbon Snake and occurs in the United States and Canada in southern Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, southern Ontario, Michigan, New York, Nova Scotia, northern Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana...
  
  - dark brown or black above, range from Maine through Ontario and Indiana.
• Southern Ribbon Snake
  Southern ribbon snake
  Southern ribbon snake is a species of garter snake. It is one of four subspecies of the eastern ribbon snake is smaller than the other Thamnophis sauritus subspecies at 16 to 30 inches and occurs in the southeastern United States from South Carolina, extreme southern Georgia and Alabama,...
  
   or Peninsula Ribbon Snake – Thamnophis sauritus sackeni - tan or brown, range from South Carolina south through Florida.
• Western Ribbon Snake or Bluestripe Ribbon Snake – Thamnophis sauritus nitae - dark with light blue lateral stripes, Gulf coast of north-central Florida.

Captivity

Ribbon snakes are also common pets. They are easily found in pet shops for up to 30 dollars. A single snake can fit in a ten gallon terrarium (aquariums work but terrariums are meant for reptiles). They are also very docile.

Food

Ribbon Snakes have a diverse diet consisting of worms, slugs, minnows, insects, small mice, fish, and toads.

External links

• Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus) eating frog