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Pacific Gopher Snake

Pituophis catenifer catenifer

Description:

Today I saw this 3 ft long slender snake at about 6.30 in the evening. It had been a warm day . It entered our neighborhood and was in the middle of the road. I was going for a walk. This zone has speeding cars and that worried me a little. I knocked on my neighbors door to help me move this snake off road. My very friendly neighbor came running with a bucket and her husband. Her husband scooped it up and we tossed it gently ,over the fence into the foothills. We were trying to figure out if it was a gopher or a baby rattler. For one it coiled up like a rattler and flattened it's face into a triangle,ready to lunge at us. It open it's mouth twice as though ready to bite. It often flicked out a black tongue. The tail was narrow and ended in a red bit. It was not olive green in color but seemed more black and white.However it's face had markings like a gophers. So we are reaching out to the experts to tell us what it is. It stayed in the coiled position till we were around and then it slithered into a small open space under the fence.

Habitat:

Foothills of Mt Diablo.

Notes:

Spotting number 3333.

2 Species ID Suggestions

Gray Ratsnake
Pantherophis spiloides
Pacific gopher snake
Pituophis catenifer catenifer Pacific Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer catenifer)


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31 Comments (1–25)

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

This is so amazing! thnx for sharing Suzanne and Ashley.
The fact that wild life can make these changes fascinates me completely.
Recently I read an article on how Swallows are developing narrower wings to adapt to urban life. Something to protect them from being chopped off,I guesss.

AshleyT
AshleyT 10 years ago

It isn't that there is anything wrong with the rattles, although I'm sure some can be deformed like you say, but the snakes have learned over decades that if they rattle, they get found. Through evolution, snakes are learning to not rattle anymore, and this keeps them safe. This can increase the amount of bites because people are more likely to step on/near them without knowing because they blend in really well, but it really is saving the rattlesnakes. We can thank the huge amounts of snakes taken for rattlesnake roundups for this happening, it is definitely a cause because they are noticing this behavior in the areas where snakes are taken for the roundups.

suzmonk
suzmonk 10 years ago

For whatever it's worth, I listened to a story on NPR the other day about mutations in U.S. rattlesnakes. A higher incidence of small +/or curled rattles ... the deformed rattles don't make a sound which, the reporter said, ends up in more of these snakes surviving to mate and pass on their genes because humans don't kill them outright. So, the assertion was that there's a growing population of rattlers out there with strange tails. I dunno from snakes ... just passing it on.

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

True, Namitha.
Even after this rigorous scrutiny., I bet there is still going to be an argument that it is a rattler. i will let you know the outcome.

namitha
namitha 10 years ago

Thank you for that info Jemma, from seeing this snake I thought it was poisonous. I am a huge fan of snakes, at the same time, I am terribly afraid of snakes.You are right, we can never be sure. In India also, there are many incidents of killing non venomous snakes which mimic the appearance of venomous ones. In nature it's a a boon for them, but in front of humans it is a free ticket to hell.

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

Namitha,thank you! these are very friendly snakes and some people have them as pets. Though it is always a smart idea to keep a distance from snakes ,these are misunderstood and often killed. These are good to have around and ideal for rodent control. In fact my neighbor kept saying ,"iif it's a gopher ,I want it in my garden" and her husband said ,"No, Honey"
They mimic rattle snakes and pretend to be rattle snakes as a way of self defence . Because of this sometimes they can scare away or end up being killed. Sad.

namitha
namitha 10 years ago

Amazing spotting and a wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing Jemma.

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

Thank you dotun55

dotun55
dotun55 10 years ago

Awesome spotting with beautiful markings

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

thank you Satyen. This is the third gopher i almost stepped on!

Wild Things
Wild Things 10 years ago

Lovely one Jemma!

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

Thanks, Adarsha. It was great to witness ,first hand,the rattle snake mimicking behaviour.

Adarsha B S
Adarsha B S 10 years ago

Fantastic series of images :)

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

thanks Daniel and Surekha. :)
Surekha,thanks for the link too.

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 10 years ago

Awesome spotting and series of pictures Jemma!

surekha
surekha 10 years ago

Awesome spotting, Jemma! Very impressive!! Interesting info on http://www.ehow.com/info_8287922_structu...

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

thanks Connor. Very reassuring to know that. His camouflage will definitely help him.

ConorSheaWing
ConorSheaWing 10 years ago

Turkeys wouldn't hurt the snake, yet hawks will. But I reckon' he's better off a hawk's meal rather than just roadkill. (That is if he does die.)

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

thanks, Robby.

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

Joshua,it was cute. But really,sometimes I wonder if we did the right thing. He could have been run over by a car,but then if he made it to the other side,it would have been safer from turkeys. We tossed it over in the open space with not much cover. In the day time there are Turkeys,hawks and I hope that it makes it into the wild. There is so much to learn about rehab and relocation. A common man might as well leave things as they are!!

Josh Asel
Josh Asel 10 years ago

Fun stuff :) Thank you!

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

thank you outside Girl and Mark.:)

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

Thank you Ashley, Frazier and Jellis in helping me ID.
This guy did not have a triangular head originally. It is only when he was upset with us that it started exhibiting rattle snake like behavior. it was a combo of docile and angry.

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

Ashley ,than you so much for your valuable feed back.

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

Jellis,that could be true. This guy was young. The tip of the tail was red,if that is any indication of shedding?

HemaShah
Spotted by
HemaShah

Concord, California, USA

Spotted on Aug 28, 2013
Submitted on Aug 28, 2013

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