Gopher Snake
Pituophis catenifer • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Pituophis, Species: P. catenifer
Western North America, ranging from southwestern Canada down through the western United States 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
Displays a yellowish, cream, or light tan ground color overlaid with a series of dark brown, black, or reddish-brown blotches along the back and smaller alternating spots on the sides. The head is slightly distinct from the neck with dark bars across the prefrontal scales, and scales are keeled.
Size & Dimensions
This individual appears to be a medium-sized adult or large juvenile, roughly 3 to 4 feet in length. Total adult length typically ranges from 3 to 7 feet (90 to 210 cm).
Habitat
Found in a wide variety of habitats including deserts, prairies, scrublands, brush, chaparral, and open forests, from sea level up to around 9,000 feet.
Diet & Feeding
Predominantly feeds on small mammals like rodents, as well as birds, bird eggs, and occasionally lizards. Uses constriction as a primary method to subdue prey.
Reproduction
Oviparous species, females typically lay clutches ranging from 2 to 24 eggs in underground burrows or beneath rotting wood during the summer months.
Look-alikes
Frequently confused with rattlesnakes due to its similar blotched pattern, coloration, and defensive mimicry behaviors, but lacks the rattle and vertical pupils characteristic of rattlesnakes.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, though localized populations face threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing.
Cultural Significance
Plays a vital ecological role in regulating rodent populations in agricultural and wild ecosystems, frequently benefiting humans by controlling pest species.
Notable Features
Known for an impressive defensive display when threatened, which includes hissing loudly by forcing air through a specialized epiglottal cartilage, flattening the head, and vibrating the tail rapidly against dry leaves to mimic a rattlesnake.