Bullsnake / Gopher Snake
Pituophis catenifer • Squamata, Serpentes, Colubridae, Colubrinae, Pituophis, Pituophis catenifer
Widespread throughout North America, including much of the United States (Great Plains to the West Coast), southern Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan), and northern to central Mexico.
Look up Bullsnake / Gopher Snake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Squamata, Serpentes, Colubridae, Colubrinae, Pituophis, Pituophis catenifer
Conservation
IUCN Least Concern. Faces threats from habitat loss, road mortality, and intentional killing due to resemblance to rattlesnakes.
Physical Description
Large, heavy-bodied snake with a yellowish or tan base color and dark brown or black square-shaped blotches (saddles). They feature keeled scales, a small head only slightly wider than the neck, a dark line between the eye and the jaw, and round pupils.
Size & Dimensions
Specimen appears to be an adult around 3-4 feet long. The species typically ranges from 3 to 6 feet (91–183 cm), with exceptional individuals reaching over 8 feet.
Habitat
Highly adaptable, found in prairies, grasslands, deserts, open woodlands, agricultural fields, and brushlands. They occupy elevations from sea level to over 2,700 meters and are primarily terrestrial but capable of burrowing and climbing.
Diet & Feeding
Active foragers and constrictors. Primary diet consists of rodents (pocket gophers, mice, rats), but also includes ground-nesting birds, eggs, and occasionally lizards.
Reproduction
Oviparous (egg-laying). Females lay clutches of 2 to 24 eggs in the summer, usually in underground burrows. Hatchlings emerge in late summer or autumn.
Look-alikes
Often confused with the Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) or Timber Rattlesnake due to similar patterns and tail-vibrating behavior. Distinguished by round pupils (vs. vertical), lack of a tail rattle, and a narrower head.
Conservation Status
IUCN Least Concern. Faces threats from habitat loss, road mortality, and intentional killing due to resemblance to rattlesnakes.
Cultural Significance
Highly valued by farmers and gardeners as a natural form of pest control due to their heavy consumption of crop-damaging rodents. Often featured in North American herpetological education to demonstrate mimicry.
Notable Features
Features a specialized epiglottis (a small flap of cartilage) that vibrates when the snake exhales forcefully, producing a loud, buzzy hiss that sounds remarkably like a rattlesnake.