Baja Gopher Snake

Common Name: Baja Gopher Snake
Scientific Name: Pituophis melanoleucus bimaris

Introduction:

The Baja Gopher Snakes, which are non-venomous belong to the pituophis genus, and are colubrid snakes found in regions such as the western parts of Mexico. Due to their docile and non-aggressive nature, these snakes are ideal to keep as pets.

Description:

These snakes exhibit a wild array of colors. They also have pattern variations on their slender bodies. They have H-shaped orange patterns on their bodies, on a yellow background. The shape of the patterns change towards the tail as the color of the patterns and background darken.

Some Baja Gophers have black stripes, which change into blotches that are common with the snakes in vertibralis family. The adult snakes measure between thirty-six and sixty-six inches while the hatchlings measure between twelve inches and eighteen inches long.

Behavior:

When threatened these snakes, flatten their heads and hiss while vibrating their tails. These snakes hiss like the rattlesnakes thus, if one does cannot tell the difference, one may think it is a rattlesnake. Young Baja Gopher Snakes are very aggressive and easily agitated. Their temperament depends on the individual snake though it is common to spot a young snake striking frequently at moving objects.

The aggressive behavior grows fainter as the snakes mature; instead, they become docile and rarely strike at moving objects. Baja Gopher Snakes are extremely nervous snakes especially when one tries to handle them; they remain motionless for the first few minutes and then squirm before calming down again.

Habitat:

These snakes subsist in diverse environments such as semi-arid areas, tropical forests, desert shores and arid scrubs.

Feeding:

These snakes mainly feed on small rodents such as rats or mice; they also feed on birds and their eggs. Young Baja Gopher Snakes feed on earthworms and other small insects due to their inability to swallow large chunks of food.