Gopher Snakes :: Gopher Snakes on www.pinesnake.de

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Gopher Snakes are classified in the following subspecies:

Sonoran Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer affinis

San Diego Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer annectens

Pazific Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer catenifer

Great Baisin Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer deserticola

Cape Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer vertebralis

Baja California Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer bimaris

San Martin Island Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer fulginatus

Credos Island Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer insulanus

Santa Cruz Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer pumilis

Island Gopher snake - Pituophis catenifer coronalis

The western subspecies belong to this group.

Distribution Distribution map

In the north its distrubution area begins in Canada. Along the West coast it reaches in the south the tip of Baja California and lives, too, on some islands off the coast. The subspecies affinis reaches Texas in the east and enters many hundred km south into Mexico.

Description

This is a group with very variable total lenghts. The ssp. pumilus seldom grow longer than 0,8m, other ssp. become more than 2m. Many of the subspecies have dark saddle spots or sometimes stripes. The color variation is very impressiv, groundcolors from whitish to yellow to red and orange and to dark brown are possible, mostly depending on the subspecies. On the head there is often a dark band from one angle of the jaw over the eyes to the other. In head scalation the 4 präfrontalia are good to divert the bordering mexican species from the other Pituophis.

Habitat

The gopher snakes live in multible areas from coasts to mountain areas up to nearly 3000m, from deserts and dry islands to light woods. Moist areas are avoid mostly.

Way of life

A great part of its time it live in rodent tunnels. They ,too, can climb fairly good, but mostly it climbs on trees in search of food. There it hunts birds and eats their eggs.

Diet

The Pituophis feed upon great amounts of rodents and so they help the farmers. Much gopher snakes are specialisd upon gopher rats. Too, they eat birds and their eggs. Young gopher snakes eat sometimes lizards and insects.

Hibernation

In northern distribution areas thes snake hibernates severals month, sometimes up to 5 month. In some more southern areas they brunate only some weeks because of not optimal weather, in south Baja California they can be found active year around.

Reproduction

Global reproduction please look at the page -Genus Pituophis-. In August/September the young snakes hatch out of eggs. Then they have a lenght of 20 to 45 cm. The coloration mostly resembles their parents.