Pacific Gophersnake - Pituophis catenifer catenifer

(Blainville, 1835)

Click on a picture for a larger view.

Approximate range of P. catenifer
Red = range of P. c. catenifer
Click map to enlarge and see other subspecies names.


Juvenile, Benton County, Oregon. © Gary Nafis. Specimen courtesy of Chris Rombough

	Adult, Benton County, Oregon © Marcus Rehrman

Short Videos

A Pacific Gophersnake, not happy to be picked up off the road by a crazy human, curls up in a defensive stance, investigates the camera, then crawls away. This movie contains no sound.	The same Pacific Gophersnake as the one to the left shows its defensive arsenal, which includes coiling, puffing up, and elevating the body, flattening the head into a triangular shape, hissing loudly, shaking the tail, and striking repeatedly. When its tormentor (and photographer) backs off, the snake crawls away, keeping its head and neck defensively arched, ready to quickly coil and strike if needed.	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.

Here's a little taste of roadcruising - driving, driving, driving, then finally a snake is spotted on the road. This one is an intergrade gophersnake from the sagebrush desert of eastern Siskiyou County.	A large Pacific Gophersnake is discovered under a small rock on a sunny late winter afternoon in Kern Canyon.