---
title: "Common Ribbon Snake"
description: "Thamnophis saurita — Reptiles. Thamnophis saurita, also known as the eastern ribbon snake, common ribbon snake, or simply ribbon snake, is a common species of garter snake native to Eastern North America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/common-ribbon-snake
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Common Ribbon Snake

> Thamnophis saurita — Reptiles. Thamnophis saurita, also known as the eastern ribbon snake, common ribbon snake, or simply ribbon snake, is a common species of garter snake native to Eastern North America.

- Scientific name: *Thamnophis saurita*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 12830
- Wikidata: [Q306906](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q306906)
- iNaturalist taxon: [558951](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/558951)

## Names

- en: Common Ribbon Snake
- de: Östliche Bändernatter
- fr: Couleuvre mince

## Countries with the most observations

US (9433), CA (2172)

## Summary

Thamnophis saurita, also known as the eastern ribbon snake, common ribbon snake, or simply ribbon snake, is a common species of garter snake native to Eastern North America. It is a non-venomous species of snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The ribbon snake averages 16 to 35 inches (41 to 89 cm) in total length (including tail). It is dark brown with bright yellow stripes. The ribbon snake is not sexually dimorphic; however, females are normally thicker than their male counterparts.
The ribbon snake can be found in wet climates such as lakes, streams, ponds and marshes. The ribbon snake is…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thamnophis_saurita

## Photo

![Common Ribbon Snake](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/common-ribbon-snake/medium.jpg)

Photo: Todd Eiben · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/164403179

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/common-ribbon-snake?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).