Eastern Ribbon Snake

Description:

Garter or Ribbon??? (I think these are all from the same snake sighting.) 22'- 24". Slender. Blackish brown with 3 yellow stripes, scales keeled. Differs from Common Garter Snake in being slimmer, less spotted, and having dark stripe along margins of belly scales. bears live young.

Habitat:

Found in or near water, where it swims on the surface, flees rapidly through shoreline grasses, Swamps, freshwater marshes, shores. Mostly in Central and Southern New England.

Notes:

Thought it was a Garter, but when looking at a guide thought it looked more like the Eastern Ribbon in that the lines are so clear with no spots like the other from the railroad bed. This one was also found right near a stream. What do you think??