Gopher Snake
Pituophis catenifer • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Pituophis, Species: Pituophis catenifer
Native to western and central North America, ranging from British Columbia down through the western United States into Mexico.
Look up Gopher Snake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Pituophis, Species: Pituophis catenifer
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though localized populations face threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional persecution.
Physical Description
Displays a pattern of dark blotches (brown, black, or reddish-brown) over a lighter yellowish, tan, or gray background. The head is slightly distinct from the neck, featuring dark bars across the crown and through the eyes. Scales are keeled.
Size & Dimensions
This specimen appears to be a juvenile, roughly 30 to 45 cm in length. Adults typically range from 90 to 180 cm, with maximum records exceeding 240 cm.
Habitat
Found in a wide variety of habitats including grasslands, desert scrub, chaparral, agricultural lands, and open coniferous forests, ranging from sea level up to high elevations.
Diet & Feeding
Diet consists primarily of small mammals, birds, bird eggs, and occasionally lizards. They are active foragers and constrictors, subduing prey by wrapping coils around it.
Reproduction
Oviparous species, females typically deposit clutches ranging from 2 to 24 eggs during the summer months, often in underground burrows or beneath decaying vegetation.
Look-alikes
Frequently confused with rattlesnakes due to similar dorsal patterning and defensive behavior (such as tail-vibrating and hissing), but lacks the rattle and heat-sensing facial pits characteristic of rattlesnakes.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though localized populations face threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional persecution.
Cultural Significance
Plays a vital ecological role in regulating rodent populations in both natural and agricultural ecosystems, making them highly beneficial to farmers.
Notable Features
Known for an impressive defensive display that includes flattening the head to appear wider, hissing loudly by forcing air through a specialized epiglottal flap, and vibrating the tail rapidly against dry leaves to mimic a rattlesnake.