Gopher Snake facts: you are what you eat? | Animal Fact Files

Gopher snakes are also known as bullsnakes and pinesnakes. There are six classified species of gopher snakes in the Pituophis genus. These are non-venomous snakes who use body language to mimic venomous snakes such as rattlesnakes. Gopher snakes are able to flatten their heads, hiss, and rattle their tails to sound and look like rattlesnakes! This helps keep predators at bay, except humans who kill the snakes when they fall for the mimic. This is unfortunate, as gopher snakes do a great job of clearing up rodent populations.
Scientific Name: Genus - Pituophis
Range: North America and parts of Central America
Size: average of 4 feet (122cm) but larger individuals may double this
Diet: gophers as well as other rodents, birds, bird eggs, and lizards
Lifespan: 15 years
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[@rickguerrero2282]

I too have seen a gopher snake in Arizona coiled, shaking its tail, AND hissing to mimic the rattle. It was fascinating!

[@toserveman9265]

I've caught gopher snakes that rattled their tails without hissing and have caught rattlesnakes that hissed without rattling their tails in Southern California.
Once I heard a very loud hissing coming from knee high browned grass thinking it was a huge gopher snake, but it turned out to be a 5'2" southern pacific western rattlesnake. I collected the snake and it never rattled until I got it in a cage at home.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Oh wow! What a find! It's finny how they don't always use everything they have to defend themselves

[@angelsdevils2956]

The rattlesnakes in the Santa Cruz area pull out guns

[@AGDinCA]

Gopher snakes are known to get skin cancer from sunning themselves? I did not know that. Thank you!

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Glad you learned something new! 😄

[@abperiasamy]

that cat😹

[@Antenian]

Great job on this video.

[@sebastianacevedo703]

Awesome vid! Thanks for listening to my suggestion! :D

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Thanks for the idea! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@clintdona4586]

This channel’s great, I love animals and learning about them :D

[@AnimalFactFiles]

So glad you're enjoying the videos 😄 Thanks for your support!

[@EllieluvsNintendo]

I’m trying to be a zoologist and travel places to study animals. You’re helping a lot!

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Ahh that's so cool!! We hope you're able to achieve this goal!!

[@EllieluvsNintendo]

@@AnimalFactFiles Thank you! You guys are my go-to when I need to look up some animal facts for studies. Thank you guys so much! :)

[@eefvaniersel3325]

Thanks for posting. That second snake in your video is, I think, a patch nosed snake.

[@jadenl629]

Wow! Thanks for the video! Learned a lot!😃

[@Col28]

Snakes rock!
By the way, starting at 2:52, what do you imagine that beetle was thinking? Then only to be passed by, rudely being pressed against the side of his earthy corridor. You can briefly seem him trying to get outta there around 3:02. :)
Thanks for the video.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

That beetle just having the worst of days 😅

[@greensun7099]

Thank you! I learned something new today! :)

[@AnimalFactFiles]

So glad you learned something new! Thanks for watching 😄

[@pyr3x849]

Does it make a good pet?

[@marvalice3455]

Pretending to be poisonous is a dangerous gambit when dealing with humans.
I wonder if, as the anthropocene continues, certain venomous species will start to mimic harmless ones to avoid human aggression? That would be an interesting thing...
Hopefully not necessarily though

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Oh that would be really interesting to see, though! Unfortunately, I think for snakes they just have a bad reputation and people are so afraid of them but don't really know anything about them. I wish "kill it" wasn't a prevalent first thought

[@marvalice3455]

@@AnimalFactFiles true

[@Col28]

@@AnimalFactFiles Yes, indeed! So many animals fit that (I'm thinking also of bats, for example).

[@DasAntiNaziBroetchen]

Is Chester the diaper chief?

[@2NormanRockwell]

Big bill broonzy Saturday night

[@GingerFishey]

Check

[@catlady520]

Do gopher snakes ever eat rattle snakes? I've read that it happens.

[@FadRaxMuryMoad]

No. King snakes do