Common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis).
Once these snakes emerge from their winter hibernation they begin mating. They can give birth to between four and eighty babies. They communicate with each other through touch and smell, although they usually remain solitary outside of the breeding season. They use their forked tongue to detect the pheromones of others animals to track them. Their prey includes earthworms, amphibians, leeches, slugs, snails, insects, crayfish, small fish and, on some occasions, other snakes, small mammals, and birds.