When you are out in nature or simply hanging around your personal property, you may rarely get more bowel control than when confronted by an unfamiliar snake.
The bite of a venomous snake is a life-threatening ordeal, and life or death often entails life-changing consequences.
It’s helpful to know what form of snake you are coping with, but there are such a lot of species that it is easy to misidentify them. What in regards to the gopher snake? Are gopher snakes venomous?
No, gopher snakes should not venomous. Although large, long and impressively coloured, gopher snakes should not dangerous and really rarely aggressive towards humans.
If you reside anywhere along the west coast of North America, but especially from Oregon to Baja California, you will likely encounter it sooner quite than later.
You definitely don’t desire to combine them with the much deadlier diamond rattlesnake, so read on to search out out more.
What does a gopher snake appear to be?
Gopher snakes are large, long, strong and imposing, often confused with the equally large but much deadlier diamond rattlesnake.
Adults range from 3 1/2 feet to 7 feet long, sometimes more, and whilst chicks and teenagers, they are frequently over a foot from birth.
As impressive as their size and length is their coloration, with most subspecies having a base color that ranges from dark brown or yellow to dark brown, but the perimeters are typically a contrasting gray.
Some morphs are mottled and the spots are invariably dark brown in color.
Some species have more spots than others, with about 50 to 100 spots along the midsection of the body, in two or three distinct rows, being common.
Regularly spaced but somewhat irregular saddle markings, referred to as dorsal spots, along the length of the snake are also common.
These coloured patches are well defined and are all the time dark in color, starting from brown to black along the uppermost surfaces of the snakes back, or patches farther down the perimeters could also be a lighter brown and even grey.
The snake’s belly is consistently vibrant, starting from whitish to pale yellow.
Another typical feature is a narrow, smooth head that’s all the time wider than the neck, and the snake’s nose has protruding scales that give it a pointed appearance.
Is the gopher snake bite poisonous?
NO. The gopher snake and all its subspecies are completely non-venomous.
Where Do Gopher Snakes Live?
Gopher snakes, more commonly referred to as Pacific snakes, live along the west coast of the United States and throughout North America, because the name suggests.
They are commonly found as far north as British Columbia and Washington, and as far south because the southern tip of California as far north as Baja California.
Fairly common throughout their range, these snakes are commonly present in low-lying, arid areas and particularly weedy bushland and dry pastures, in order that they could be present in the open desert, along coastal dunes and beaches, and infrequently in forests, although there may be atypical.
First of all, these snakes are rarely found above 2,000 feet.
Perhaps most notably, these snakes typically establish a house territory that they are going to occupy for years unless driven away.
This implies that if you will have one on or near your property, it might show up often, so be prepared.
How likely is it that the gopher snake will bite you?
Very unlikely. Gopher snakes generally prefer to avoid people, but also they are snakes which are known to be generally good-natured and passive.
As long as they’re handled with care, they’re unlikely to bite, although this mustn’t be the case when encountered within the wild.
As mentioned above, gopher snakes are fairly often mistaken and killed for resembling the diamond rattlesnake.
Appearance aside, gopher snakes also use defensive mimicry, slapping the tip of their tail on the bottom or dry vegetation in an try and persuade predators that they’re in reality way more dangerous cousins.
It is simple to inform an adult gopher snake from an adult rattlesnake by fastidiously examining the tip of the tail; gopher snakes don’t have a rattle.
Is the bite painful?
It is believed that the bite of a gopher snake isn’t particularly painful. They do not have large fangs to inject venom, but these snakes are big, heavily muscled and powerful, and their teeth will still cut you in the event that they bite.
Reptile bites, including snake bites, are particularly prone to turn into infected with bacteria, which implies it’s best to seek nasty treatment.
Will Gopher snakes attack humans?
Gopher snakes are unlikely to attack humans. In general, they like to avoid like most snakes.
Threatened or just unwilling to budge, they are going to engage in a defensive display of rapidly tapping the tip of their tail on the bottom to simulate a rattlesnake, as described above.
In addition, gopher snakes are known for his or her loud and wild hissing, the loudest of all snakes.
If that does not persuade you to back off and mind your personal business and also you proceed to approach or antagonize the snake, it’s going to likely attack.
However, assuming the snake is calm, they often lend themselves to gentle handling, especially if handled often in captivity.
Will Gopher Snakes Hurt Pets or Livestock?
Gopher snakes pose a serious threat to small animals, birds, and eggs, although they pose no threat to larger animals akin to goats, sheep, horses, cows, and most dogs and cats.
If you will have chickens or geese, their eggs shall be a daily a part of gopher snakes’ menus, as will other small mammals akin to rabbits and their bunnies, and smaller dogs.
Gopher snakes get their name from their typical prey, pocket gophers, and every other mammal that’s roughly in that size category may very well be in danger.
Keep in mind that adult gopher snakes are large and powerful and might easily overpower their prey or potentially scare larger animals into attacking or panicking.
Should You Get Rid of Gopher Snakes When You Can?
Basically, there is no such thing as a must hurt or try to maneuver gopher snakes.
They won’t attempt to harm you or most pets, although should you keep chickens or geese or have a small dog or cat, they could fall prey to an adult gopher snake.
In these cases, consider catching and moving the snake or contacting an animal control service.
Gopher snakes rarely fight much on the subject of catching and are easy to catch. Because gopher snakes play such a vital role in local ecosystems, it’s best to avoid killing them unless you will have no other selection.
