The Northwestern Gartersnake is the smallest Gartersnake in British Columbia, ranging in size from 35 – 75 cm, although most individuals tend to be less than 60 cm. Males are typically smaller than females, as fecundityDefinition:Tooltip content increases with body size for females. The colour of Northwestern Gartersnakes varies more than any other snake species in British Columbia and melanistic and albino populations are more common than in other species. Most individuals are a dull brown-grey to olive, often with faint checkering on the dorsal surface and dorsal stripe. The colour of the dorsal stripe is incredibly variable and may be bright yellow, red, tan, blue, white, or cream. The width of the stripe is also highly variable, and some individuals will not possess a stripe at all. The belly is typically pale, and some individuals will have bold red or black markings. The scales of the dorsal surface are highly keeledDefinition:Scales that contain a ridge down the centre that may or may not extend to the tip of the scale., like all Gartersnakes in British Columbia. There is one characteristic that can help reliably identify a Northwestern Gartersnake: a pale upper lip with 7 upper labialDefinition:Referring to the lips, such as a marking along the lip. scales.