Range: Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Habitat: Open deserts, chaparral, marshes, grasslands, and woodlands throughout the range.
Description: This large snake may reach lengths of up to 8 ft., but average length is between 3 – 5 ft. Yellow, orange, or tan in color with numerous blotches of dark brown on the back that may connect along the sides to form stripes; side markings are dark brown to reddish blotches alternating with background coloration and forming a checkerboard-like pattern toward the scutes which are a pale yellow or tan color. Snout is narrow with an enlarged rostral scale on the nose. They are ectothermic, which means that they control their body temperature through behavior, by moving in and out of hot and cool spots to maintain an ideal body temperature (thermoregulation). Active during the day in the spring, but becomes crepuscular to nocturnal during warm days and summer months.
Adaptations/Habitat: When threatened, this snake is an excellent bluffer. Its first line of defense is to flee, but if it is cornered it will perform intense tail vibrations and loud hissing. The tail vibrations may confuse potential predators and trick them into thinking that the gopher snake is instead a venomous rattlesnake. The gopher snake even positions its body in a way similar to a defensive rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike. The hissing sound produced by this snake is a raspy loud sound, which can be heard from as far away as 100 feet.
Breeding/Growth: This snake is oviparous and lays between 2-24 eggs, which are typically laid between June and August.
Diet: Mammals, birds, reptiles (including other snakes), and eggs. This snake is a voracious predator with keen eyesight.
Exhibit: education animal
Notes: This harmless snake is often mistaken for a rattlesnake and killed needlessly. This snake is a voracious rodent predator and is thus a valuable commodity for pest control. This snake is nonvenomous and subdues its prey by constriction or by overpowering the prey and pressing it against a sturdy surface (i.e. wall of a rodent burrow).
