Gopher snakes are found in brushy,
grassy, and wooded areas all over Orange County. They are usually
between 36 and 96 inches long. Gopher snakes range in color from
cream-yellow to green-gray to tan, with large black, brown or reddish
blotches on their backs and smaller ones along their sides. Most
specimens have a dark line between their eyes and another from behind
their eyes to the angle of the jaw. Sometimes striped individuals,
with or without blotches, are found. 
Gopher
Snakes will bite if you annoy or provoke them. Before striking,
they will become tense, with their head drawn back, a few inches
above the ground and then suddenly, "Whack, and you will have been
bitten." They will strike hard, with their mouths wide-open, and
then they will redraw just as quickly, leaving you with a series
of parallel teeth marks.
No worries mate, as a Gopher Snake bite
survivor, I can tell you that unless you weigh less than 1 or
2 pounds, this bite, unless it becomes infected, will prove to
be little more than an annoyance, a small price to pay for some
cool bragging rights lasting the rest of your life.
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This is not a poisonous snake; victims
are killed by constriction and suffocation. They are normally
active during the day, but they can become nocturnal during the
hottest days of summer.
When frightened this snake will sometimes
imitate a rattlesnake by coiling up, vibrating its tail and hissing
a warning. On top of that, Gopher snakes are often similar in
color and markings to the rattlesnakes that live in the same area.
They have also been known to spread and flatten their heads, thereby
resembling a rattler even more. The hope is a predator will mistake
this behavior and the somewhat triangular head of the Gopher snake
for a rattlesnake and back off. However, you won't be fooled by
this elaborate scam if you remember there are no poisonous snakes
in California with pointed tails; the Gopher Snake's tail is decidedly
pointed. |
