Its eyes are larger than other garter snake species. According to California Herps, it is able to eat Pacific newts, which are poisonous to other predators. Thamnophis marcianus (Checkered garter ...

Only instead of looking for a lost ball, he was poking at a foot-long checkered garter snake. So Johanningmeier walked over, picked up the snake by its tail and carried it to some nearby trees.

They learned to check for head markings and to count the facial scales, which help identify western and checkered garter snakes. "This snake definitely fits the description of an eastern garter snake.