Garter Snake Survives Subzero Freeze and Reawakens
Red-sided garter snakes can survive brief freezes by entering metabolic depression and accumulating limited cryoprotectants, tolerating up to about 40% of body water freezing at −2.5 °C; some individuals fully recover after short exposures, but survival drops sharply with longer freezes, highlighting a narrow, last-resort tolerance rather than a general winter adaptation, and raising questions about how shifting winters will affect their den sites and cold-weather biology.
