A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

San Diego Gophersnake - Pituophis catenifer annectens

Baird and Girard, 1853

(= San Diego Gopher Snake)

Click on a picture for a larger view

Range in California: Orange & adjacent Gray

Click the map for a key to the other subspecies

Listen to a Gophersnake
hissing defensively

Adult, 3,000 ft., San Diego County

Adult, San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County

Adult, Riverside County

Sub-adult, San Diego County

Underside of adult, San Diego County

Adult, Riverside County

Sub-adult, Riverside County

Captive adult, Santa Barbara County

Adult, Santa Barbara County
© Jen Castle

Adult, Riverside County
© Jeff Ahrens

Adult, San Bernardino County © Patrick Briggs

Adult, San Luis Obispo County © Patrick Briggs

Adult, Riverside County
© Jeff Ahrens

This adult is shown as it was found, climbing a rock next to a damp stream bed on an April morning in a Riverside County canyon.
© Graham Garber

Adult, Orange County © Ivan Vershynin

Adult, Orange County © Tadd Kraft

Tracks

Young adult, San Diego County. Its tracks on a sandy road show how it slipped from side to side to get traction in the sand.

Tracks of a large adult across a harder surface are almost in a straight line,
San Diego County

Snakes From Intergrade Areas

Adult from Los Angeles County intergrade area where P. c. annectens intergrades with P. c. deserticola. © Patrick Briggs

This adult snake from the desert in Riverside County near San Gorgonio pass where the two subspecies meet shows a dark pattern towards the head characteristic of P. c. annectens and a yellow-orange coloration at the tail end characteristic of P. c. affinis. © Dave Zeldin

Interesting or Unusual San Diego Gophersnakes

Albino adult, San Diego County. © Richard E. Brewer

Aberrant adult, Los Angeles County
© 2006 John Michels

White-sided adult, San Bernardino County © Matt Sjostrom

Aberrant adult, Los Angeles County
© 2006 John Michels

Wild juvenile gophersnake with two heads, found near the Santa Ana mountains in Riverside County.
Two-headed snakes are rare, but they show up occasionally in captive breeding and in the wild.

Adult from near Chino, San Bernardino County © Jeff Ahrens

Both of the snakes above show some similiarities in appearance to the subspecies P. c. affinis, but they were found at least 50 miles from the range of that subspecies.
They were also found within close proximity at the same time which tends to rule out the likelihood they were both transported and released to the area.

Gophersnakes Feeding

Juvenile Pacific Gophersnake, Mariposa County, eating a Western Fence Lizard
© Daniel Harris

This dead juvenile Pacific Gophersnake was found in Sutter County. It appears to have a leg, but on closer inspection, it is the leg of what is probably an alligator lizard that broke through the snake's side after the snake swallowed it.
© Kevin Bryant

Adult Pacific Gophersnake, Kings County, preparing to eat its namesake mammal - a gopher. © Patrick Briggs

Adult Pacific Gophersnake in a bird's nest eating a duck egg, Kings County,
© Patrick Briggs

A juvenile Pacific Gophersnake eating a Coast Range Fence Lizard in Sonoma County © Gérard Menut

Matt Maxon and Johanna Turner were hiking in Big Tujunga Canyon in Los Angeles County when they discovered a large dead rodent that appeared to have been partially swallowed and spit out. (Left) On returning to the same spot about two hours later, they noticed the rodent was gone, and soon discovered a San Diego Gophersnake swallowing it. (Right) Did the snake kill the rodent, attempt to eat it, then spit it out and return later to try again, or was more than one predator involved? We'll never know, but that sure is more than a mouthful.
© Matt Maxon and Johanna Turner.

Debbie Frost saw a Great Basin Gophersnake that had just bred in Lassen County crawl down a hole, and quickly coming back up with a kangaroo rat. The snake then crawled into the shade made by Debbie's shadow and ate while she watched.

Gophersnake Predation

A California Kingsnake killing a Pacific Gophersnake
for dinner in Contra Costa County. © Tim Dayton

Gophersnakes are sometimes preyed upon by birds of prey, or raptors. Here, a San Diego Gophersnake is carried off by a Red-tailed Hawk in San Luis Obispo County. © Joel A. Germond

California Kingsnakes are powerful predators capable of eating other snakes almost as large as they are. Here you can see one eating a Pacific Gophersnake. © Patrick Brigg

Breeding

Two adults all twisted up in Los Angeles County - they were described to me as a mating pair, but the are most likely two males fighting over access to a nearby female. © Chris Mowry

San Diego Gophersnakes wrestling on a Riverside County rural road in May during the breeding season. © Dorothy Sheldrake. Click the image on the right to watch a short video.

The Danger of Plastic Netting to Snakes

Suzanne Camejo found this San Diego Gophersnake in an apricot tree which it had climbed probably trying to raid a Mockingbird nest. The snake was entangled in synthetic netting used to protect the fruit from birds. Suzanne and her friends cut the netting, which had dug into the snake's skin, to free the snake. They were repaid with the hissing and striking of a very stressed-out snake, but one that was now free to crawl away and continue to rid the garden of rodents and rabbits.

Although netting is used as a natural method to deter agricultural pests, as well as for erosion control, it can be a great hazard to some animals, especially snakes.

Photos © Suzanne Camejo

This San Diego Gophersnake was found entangled in synthetic "wildlife netting" used as a barrier to rodents and other pests. After freeing two snakes that were found entangled in the netting, the property owner removed the netting to protect the snakes.
© Osa Barbani

This San Diego Gophersnake found in Orange County, was rescued after it was trapped in a tarp with small mesh that was used to cover backyard stuff. Snakes will try to crawl through any open mesh, not just that used in plastic netting.
© Stacy Schenkel

How to Tell the Difference Between Gophersnakes and Rattlesnakes

Gopher Snake Rattlesnake Comparison Sign

Harmless and beneficial gophersnakes are sometimes mistaken for dangerous rattlesnakes. They are often killed unnecessarily because of this confusion.
It is easy to avoid this mistake by learning to tell the difference between the two families of snakes. The informational signs shown above can help to educate you about these differences. (Click to enlarge).
If you can't see enough detail on a snake to be sure it is not a rattlesnake or if you have any doubt that it is harmless, leave it alone. You should never handle a snake unless you are absolutely sure that it is not dangerous.

Habitat

Habitat, Riverside County

Habitat, small creek,
San Diego County

Habitat, San Diego County

Habitat,6,200 ft.
San Bernardino County

Habitat, Riverside County

Habitat, 3,000 ft., San Diego County

Habitat, coastal San Diego County grassland

Coastal scrub habitat,
San Diego County

Habitat, hill next to suburbs,
San Diego County

Habitat, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County

Habitat, San Diego County coastal scrub

Habitat, riparian canyon,
Los Angeles County

Habitat, Santa Ana Mountains,
Riverside County

Short Videos

A San Diego Gophersnake flicks its tongue and crawls across a dirt road.

A San Diego Gopher snake is discovered on a dirt road in the morning. It becomes defensive when I follow it, hissing and striking out to warn me to back off.

A distressed Pacific Gophersnake shakes its tail rapidly, which makes a buzzing sound as the tail touches the ground. This behavior might be a mimic of a rattlesnake's rattlng, or it could be a similar behavior that helps to warn off an animal that could be a threat to the gopher snake.

Description

Not Dangerous (Non-poisonous) - This snake does not have venom that is dangerous to most humans.

Size

Adults of the species Pituophis catenifer can be 2.5 - 9 feet long (76 - 279 cm). (Stebbins, 2003)
Hatchlings are fairly long, generally around 15 inches in length (38 cm).
Most adults of this subspecies, Pituophis catenifer annectens, are 4 - 5 ft. long (122 -152 cm.)

Appearance

A large snake with heavily keeled scales, a narrow head that is slightly wider than the neck, and a protruding rostral scale on the tip of the snout that is bluntly rounded.

Color and Pattern

Ground color is tan, light brown or yellowish, with large brown or blackish rounded blotches along the back and smaller markings on the sides.
The dorsal blotches can fuse together producing a very dark color.
The underside is cream to yellow with dark spots.
The back of the neck is often a dull orange.
There is usually a dark stripe across the head in front of the eyes and a dark stripe from behind each eye to the angle of the jaw.
Juveniles tend to have a darker and more compact pattern than adults.

Key to California gophersnake subspecies.

Life History and Behavior

Activity

Active in the daytime, and at night in hot weather, and especially at dusk and dawn.
One of the most commonly seen snakes on roads and trails, especially in the spring when males are actively seeking a mate, and in the fall when hatchlings emerge.
A good burrower, climber, and swimmer.

Defense

When threatened, a gophersnake will do several things, sometimes one after the other, including: crawling away quickly to escape or hide; freezing up - making the body rigid and kinked up so it won't be noticed or perceived as a snake; and striking at the threat to scare it off. Gophersnakes also use a more dramatic defensive behavior - sometimes a snake will elevate its body and inflate it with air while flattening its head into a triangular shape, hissing loudly, and quickly shaking its tail back and forth to make a buzzing sound.

(This head-flattening and tail-rattling is usually considered to be a mimic of a rattlesnake, but the tail shaking could be a behavior similar to that of the rattlesnake that helps to warn off an animal that could be a threat to the snake by alerting it of the snake's presence.)

Gophersnakes have a specially-developed epiglottis which increases the sound of their hiss when air is forced through the glottis. You can listen to a recording of a gophersnake hissing here, and watch short movies of a gophersnake hissing and striking here, and shaking its tail here.

Diet and Feeding

Eats mostly small mammals, especially pocket gophers, moles, rabbits, and mice, along with birds and their eggs and nestlings. Occasionally eats lizards and insects.

A powerful constrictor; kills prey by suffocating them in body coils or by pressing the animal against the walls of their underground burrows.

Breeding

Mating occurs in spring after emergence from winter hibernation.
Mating and egg laying occurs later at higher elevations in the mountains.

Females lay one to 2 clutches of 2-24 eggs from June - August. (Stebbins, 2003)
Eggs hatch in 2 - 2.5 months.

Habitat

Found in a variety of habitats - grassland, coastal sage scrub, agricultural lands, riparian areas, woodlands, and desert, from sea level to the mountains. Especially common in coastal areas.

Geographical Range

This subspecies, Pituophis catenifer annectens - San Diego Gophersnake, occurs in southern California - south of the range of P. c. catenifer on the south coast in Santa Barbara County, and south on the inland side of the mountain ranges to Baja California. It also occurs on Santa Catalina Island. It is sympatric with P. c. affinis in a narrow range, but no intergrades have been found. It apparently intergrades with P. c. catenifer, and P. c. deserticola.

The species Pituophis catenifer - Gophersnake, occurs from southern Canada in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, south into Mexico, and east to Indiana and east Texas, excluding most of Arkansas, Minnesota, and North Dakota, and much of Illinois and Wisconsin. It is also found in the Channel Islands and on islands off the west coast of Baja California.

Elevational Range

Gophersnakes range from below sea level to around 9,186 ft. (2,800 m). (Stebbins, 2003)

Notes on Taxonomy

8 subspecies of Pituophis catenifer are recognized - 2 occur in Baja California, and 6 occur in the United States. It has been proposed that the snakes from Baja California are a new species. 5 of these 8 subspecies occur in California, with one endemic, and one that only occurs in California and Baja California.

Gophersnakes are related to Ratsnakes and Kingsnakes, and they have been known to interbreed with these species.

Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)

Pituophis catenifer annectens - Sonoran Gopher Snake (Stebbins 2003, Stebbins & McGinnis 2012)
Pituophis melanoleucus annectens - Sonoran Gopher Snake (Stebbins 1985)
Pituophis melanoleucus annectens - Sonora Gopher Snake (Stebbins 1966)
Pituophis catenifer annectens (Stebbins 1954)
Pituophis catenifer annectens - San Diego Gopher Snake (Baird and Girard, 1853)
Pituophis catenifer annectens - San Diegan Gopher Snake (Van Denburgh 1922)
Pacific bull snake (Ruthling 1915)
Coastal gopher snake
Gopher snake
Pacific gopher snake

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

A very common snake, but often mistaken for a rattlesnake due to a similarity in appearance and killed unnecessarily. Frequently killed by traffic when crossing roads.

Taxonomy
Family	Colubridae	Colubrids	Oppel, 1811
Genus	Pituophis	Bullsnakes, Gophersnakes, and Pinesnakes	Holbrook, 1842
Species	catenifer	Gophersnake	(Blainville, 1835)
Subspecies	annectens	San Diego Gophersnake	Baird and Girard, 1853
Original Description
Pituophis catenifer - (Blainville, 1835) - Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, Vol. 4, p. 290, pl. 26, figs. 2-2b Pituophis catenifer annectens - Baird and Girard, 1853 - Cat. N. Amer. Rept., Pt. 1, p. 72 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Pituophis - Greek - pitys- pine and ophis - snake - possibly referring to habitat of nominate subspecies on U.S. east coast (the Pine Snake) catenifer - Latin - catena - chain and -ifera - bearing - referring to the dorsal pattern annectens - Latin - joining or connecting from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Related or Similar California Snakes
P. c. affinis -Sonoran Gophersnake P. c. catenifer - Pacific Gophersnake P. c. deserticola - Great Basin Gophersnake P. c. pumilus - Santa Cruz Island Gophersnake A. e. eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake A. e. occidentalis - California Glossy Snake
More Information and References
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Patrick Briggs' World Pituophis Site Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012. Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972. Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998. Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009. Bartlett, R. D. & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000. Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997. Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003. Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press, 1957.

Conservation Status
The following status listings are copied from the April 2018 Special Animals List and the 2017 Endangered and Threatened Animals List, both of which are published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. If no status is listed here, the animal is not included on either CDFW list. This most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal. To find out more about an animal's status, you can go to the NatureServe and IUCN websites to check their rankings. Check here to see the most current complete lists. This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
Organization	Status Listing
NatureServe Global Ranking
NatureServe State Ranking
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife	None
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	None
IUCN

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