If the snake has a speckling of red on its side, then it is a Coast garter snake (Thamnophis elegans terrestis). The Coast snakes eat almost any small thing that moves, including insects, snails ...

Brian J. Halstead, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Habitat Suitability and Conservation of the Giant Gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) in the Sacramento Valley of California, Copeia, Vol. 2010, No. 4 ...

These investigations showed that the gonads of the male garter snake, Thamnophis elegans terrestris, exhibit marked seasonal variation. The testes begin to increase in size in the early spring, ...