Gopher Snake
(Pituophis catenifer)

Gopher snakes are large bodied snakes have slightly keeled dorsal scales with a background color that ranges from reddish orange to tan to yellow with dark blotches on the back.

Wild gopher snakes can be found from the western United States and to as far north as Canada and extend as far south as Baja, Mexico.

Difficulty

NOVICE to MODERATE: Gopher snakes are an average sized snake, but many often have a poor disposition and may not be the best choice if you are new to keeping reptiles and amphibians.

Requirements

An enclosure, such as:

• Plastic shoe box container for younger gopher snakes
• Plastic sweater box container for adult gopher snakes
• Glass or acrylic aquarium (5 to 30 gallons, depending on the size of the gopher snake) with a secure lid with clamps

Substrate, such as:

• Aspen wood shavings
• Indoor/outdoor carpeting
• Newspaper

A heating element, such as:

• Under the tank heater
• Incandescent heat bulb
• Ceramic infrared heat emitters

Enclosure

The size of the enclosure you will need for your gopher snake depends on the size of the snake. Young hatchling gopher snakes will often be timid and scared in too large of an enclosure while adult gopher snakes will need a larger enclosure to move around in and feel more comfortable. For younger, smaller gopher snakes, you can use a 5 gallon aquarium or a plastic shoe box container with a few small holes drilled at the top of the container to allow for ventilation. Adult gopher snakes should be housed in a larger enclosure like a 30 gallon (or larger) aquarium or a plastic sweater box sized container with ventilation holes.

It is also important to provide your gopher snake with an area to hide. There are many comercially available caves that can be purchased from your favorite pet supply store, or you can use things like flower pots, plastic containers, or just about anything that is big enough for your gopher, bull, or pine snake to completely crawl into and can provide a dark place to hide. Many hobbyists also like to decorate their enclosure with drift wood and other decoration. The choices are limitless and you can make your enclosure as sparse or as ornate as you wish, depending on your own desires.

Always remember that gopher snakes, like all snakes are escape artists. They will always test your enclosure to see if they can get out. For this reason, you will always want to make sure that your enclosure has a secure lid that the snake can not push open. If using an aquarium, be sure to use a screen top with enough clamps to prevent the gopher snake from pushing open the top. If using a plastic container, please be sure that the ventilation holes are small enough to prevent the snake from escaping. This is especially true for hatchling gopher snakes.

Substrate

The substrate or bedding that you use is one of the most important parts of your gopher snake's home, since your snake will be spending all of its time on it. Some of the best substrate is folded newspaper. While it is not the most visually appealing option, it is one of the easiest and cleanest. Indoor/Outdoor carpeting can also be used as an effective substrate for your snake. Be sure to have at least two identical pieces so that you can simply place the clean piece of carpeting in the enclosure while you rinse and disenfect the soiled piece. You can then allow the newly cleaned piece of carpeting to dry for the next days use. It's important to note that it is important to completely rinse the carpet after cleaning it to be sure there is no residual chemicals remaining on the carpet that could irritate your gopher snake. Aspen wood shavings provide an excellent, absorbent choice for your gopher snake as well. Be sure to stay away from cedar or pine shavings as these can cause health problems for your gopher snake. A sand/soil mix of 50% play sand and 50% potting soil can also be used to provide a more natural look.

Heating and Light

Gopher snakes like an ambient daytime temperature of 75°F to 80°F with nighttime temperatures of 65°F to 70°F. A basking spot of 85°F to 90°F should be provided during the day. These temperatures can be achieved by using under the tank heaters, incadescent basking bulbs, or ceramic emitters. We recommend using a timer to automatically turn off your daytime heating and lighting elements at night. It's important to check these temperatures regularly with a thermometer. Many hobbyists will install thermometers or thermostats in the enclsosure to be able to accurately maintain these temperatures. We do not recommend the use of any kind of heat rocks as they can often lead to burns on your gopher snake.

Diet

Gopher snakes can be fed mice their entire lives. Hatchling gopher snakes will need to be fed pinkie or fuzzie mice, while adult gopher snakes can be fed adult mice. It's important that you feed the appropriate sized mouse to your gopher snake. If the mouse is too small, it may not be getting all the nutrtion that it needs, if it is too large it may spit the mouse back up. A good rule to follow is to feed mice that are about 1½ times the size of the largest portion of your gopher snake's body. Generally your snake will only need to eat about once a week, but younger gopher snakes may need to be fed more often. Your gopher snake's appetite may also decrease in the winter months. As long as your snake still has good muscle tone, this is usually not anything to worry about. Fresh water should be provided at all times.

When feeding your gopher snake, it is important that you feed it seperately from other snakes and in an area of the enclosure that is free from smaller wood shavings or other small items that could be inadvertently ingested with the food. We also find that thawed, pre-killed frozen rodents to provide the safest food source. Live mice can injur your gopher snake during feeding. The freezing process will also kill most parasites that the mouse may be carrying. Most gopher snakes will easily take to the thawed prey with little effort.