The Common Gartner Snake is present in much of North America, but they are largely absent in the arid southwestern United States. They are very widespread, highly adaptable, and can survive extreme environmental conditions. The preferred habitats of these snakes is in meadows, marshes, woodlands, and hillsides. Indicating factors of this species would be the three stripes that commonly run down the length of their back and a head wider than the neck. They vary highly in color, from black to olive and from yellow to blue stripes. The average length of a Common Gartner Snake is about 88 cm., but they can reach anywhere from 46-137 cm. They begin to reproduce in the spring straight out of hibernation and in the wild they generally live between 3-4 years.