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Mike is right here guys, and has done a great job of explaining why. That is large for a gartersnake, but not unheard of.
Ratsnakes, watersnakes and racers would not have that vertebral stripe clearly seen in the photo. All North American colubrids will shake their tail, including garters. Kingsnakes are not found in PA.
It is a large, possibly gravid, eastern gartersnake.
It doesn't look at first like a garter snake to me. However i've seen some very large, and different colored varieties so I think you are correct.
A rat snake or black snake would have white lips and under belly. Did it do the fake rattle? Rat snakes will do that, I dont believe garters do. Both will musk.
I thought Garter snake too but was second guessing myself due to it's size. It was a little over three feet long and was a little over 2 inches in diameter by my best estimate. It was extremely aggressive which also seemed atypical of a Garter but I am far from the expert...hence my searching for input. thanks for the replies.
Spotted on Jun 5, 2011
Submitted on Jun 5, 2011
