Gopher Snake
Pituophis catenifer • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Pituophis, Species: P. catenifer
Western North America, extending from southwestern Canada through the western United States down into northern Mexico.
Look up Gopher Snake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Pituophis, Species: P. catenifer
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though localized populations face threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing.
Physical Description
Exhibits a patterned dorsal array of dark brown, black, or reddish-brown blotches over a lighter yellowish, cream, or gray background. The head is slightly distinct from the neck with dark bars around the eyes and labial scales, and the scales are keeled.
Size & Dimensions
Typically ranges from 36 to 72 inches (90 to 180 cm) in total length, with exceptional individuals exceeding 90 inches.
Habitat
Found in a wide variety of habitats including deserts, prairies, scrublands, brush, coniferous forests, and agricultural areas from sea level up to around 9,000 feet.
Diet & Feeding
Feeds primarily on small mammals such as rodents, rabbits, and occasionally birds and their eggs. Utilizes constriction to subdue prey after an active search or ambush in burrows.
Reproduction
Oviparous, laying clutches ranging from 2 to 24 eggs typically in late spring or early summer within underground burrows or beneath rotting logs.
Look-alikes
Frequently confused with rattlesnakes due to similar coloration, blotched patterns, and defensive behaviors such as tail-vibration and hissing, but lacks rattles and facial heat-sensing pits.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though localized populations face threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing.
Cultural Significance
Serves a vital ecological role as a natural predator of agricultural pests and rodents, though often mistakenly persecuted due to its superficial resemblance to rattlesnakes.
Notable Features
Features a specialized epiglottal glottis that allows it to produce a remarkably loud, rattlesnake-like hiss when threatened, acting as an effective defensive mimicry adaptation.