#sonoran gopher snake

[camelidae]

A little sunset walk is a perfect opportunity to stretch your legs and greet the neighbors.

(another custom request from last year’s Kickstarter)

[i-m-snek]

Starting off the weekend strong! Lovely sonoran gopher snake, he was chilling on the freeway so i helped him cross before he got hit 👌

[herpsandbirds]

Saw a gorgeous Sonoran coachwhip this week and was wondering if you could share either more coachwhips or Sonoran specialties?

Thank you for running this blog! ❤️

Snakes of Sonora

I greatly regret that I have not made more time in my life to go herping in the Sonoran Desert. There are some truly great snakes there!

Here are some gorgeous snakes from Southern AZ:

Sonoran Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis), family Colubridae

photograph by Patrick Alexander 

Sonoran Whipsnake (Masticophis bilineatus), juvenile, family Colubridae, Arizona, USA

photograph by Justin Doll & Jeff Martineau

Sonoran or Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana), family Colubridae, souther AZ, USA

Mimics coral snakes.

photograph by Mario Ramos

Sonoran Coral Snake (Micruroides euryxanthus), family Elapidae, Pima County, AZ, USA

photograph by Chris Cirrincione

Sonoran Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon lambda), family Colubridae, Southern AZ, USA

photograph by Laurie Vitt

[msgummysharks]

favorite animals that you've worked with? :)c

Puppies & kittens prob seems like the obvious choice but it's actually been the reptiles!

It can be surprising to see just how much personality snakes and tortoises can have when you spend enough time with them on a regular basis and you get to bond with them. For an example: Our Sonoran Gopher snake actually gets visibly excited when he sees me come in for my shifts! When he feels unhappy with something I'm doing, he'll warn me by giving my hand a shove (the way that he does this has actually led me to refer to them as "snake punches").

And while most people think of tortoises as slow, lazy and unenthused, one of our Sonoran Deserts is surprisingly speedy, he hustles over and sniffs me all over, like a dog greeting their owner at the door, when I go into his enclosure... and then, sometimes, tries to escape! (Thankfully, though, he is in fact slow enough that this isn't usually difficult to prevent by picking him up and placing him a bit further away from the gate lol)

[actuallydavidjacobs]

There’s quite a few

Venomous:

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) -Venomous

Arizona Black Rattlesnake (Crotalus cerberus) -Venomous

Banded Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus klauberi) -Venomous

Mottled Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus lepidus) -Venomous

Northern Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus molossus) -Venomous

Northern Mohave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus) -Venomous

Hopi Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis nuntius) -Venomous

Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis) -Venomous

New Mexico Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi obscurus) -Venomous

Arizona Coral Snake (Micruroides euryxantha euryxantha) -Venomous

Desert Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsi) -Venomous

Non-venomous:

Kansas Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans elegans)

Painted Desert Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans philipi)

Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis subocularis)

Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris)

Western Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor mormon)

Prairie Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus arnyi)

Regal Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus regalis)

Chihuahuan Hook-nosed Snake (Gyalopion canum)

Mexican Hognose Snake (Heterodon kennerlyi)

Plains Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus plains)

Mesa Verde Night Snake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea loreala )

San Diego Night Snake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi)

Gray-banded Kingsnake (Lampropeltis alterna)

California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae)

Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula desert)

Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana)

Mexican Milk Snake (Lampropeltis annulata)

Sonoran Whipsnake (Masticophis bilineatus)

Lined Coachwhip Snake (Masticophis lineatulus)

Red Racer (Masticophis flagellum piceus)

Western Coachwhip Snake (Masticophis flagellum testaceus)

Desert Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus)

Blotched Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster blotched)

Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis)

Great Plains Rat Snake (Pantherophis emoryi)

Sonoran Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis)

Great Basin Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer deserticola )

Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi)

New Mexico Blind Snake (Rena dissectus)

Trans-Pecos Blind Snake (Rena humilus segregus)

Long-nosed Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)

Mountain Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora grahamiae grahamiae)

Big Bend Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis deserticola)

Northern Green Rat Snake (Senticolis triaspis intermedia)

Western Ground Snake (Sonora semiannulata)

Southwestern Black-headed Snake (Tantilla hobartsmithi)

Plains Black-headed Snake (Tantilla nigriceps)

Yaquia Black-headed Snake (Tantilla yaquia)

Western Black-necked Garter Snake (Thamnophis cyrtopsis cyrtopsis)

Wandering Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans vagrans)

Checkered Garter Snake (Thamnophis marcianus marcianus)

Aridland Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus diabolicus)

Narrow-headed Garter Snake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus)

Plains Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis radix)

Sonoran Lyresnake (Trimorphodon lambda)

Texas Lyresnake (Trimorphodon vilkinsonii)

Lined Snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum)

Snake facts part 10:

Some snakes, such as the boa constrictor, have up to 200 teeth, while snakes like the king cobra have up to 100. While all snakes have teeth, not all have fangs.

[alithographica]

Look at this majestic creature, a Sonoran gopher snake. A hunter in the desert, an expert in survival, fiercely intimid—

oh. dork. baby. ily

[fatchance]

Sonoran gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis) basking in a sandy arroyo, San Pedro House, Cochise County, Arizona. 

Please click either photo for enlarged views. 

[maddaddy316]

Sonoran Gopher Snake. Western U.S.

[teleos]

Brumation is almost over.

[thebeardedherper]

This will be a bioactive terrarium for a sonoran gopher snake. The substrate is the terra sahara blend from biodude.com with a lower layer of sphagnum moss. There are dead oak leaves and other organic materials mixed in along with a cleaning crew of isopods and springtails who will breakdown waste. I will likely adjust the heat by adding another low wattage heat bulb, and I will be letting this sit for a few weeks to give the bugs a chance to get established and the plants time to get rooted. The plant being used is elephants bush.

[noodle-boops]

Some molgs

[i-m-snek]

Took in a little Sonoran Gopher snake that was stuck on a glue trap. Got a call from the couples daughter, they had removed the snake using olive oil but injured it a little bit, and knew it needed some TLC.  I explained the cruelty involved in using glue traps, and luckily they were a lovely couple that felt awful about the whole thing. From what they told me, they’re swapping to snap traps for the mi/ce in their house.  He’s been patched up by my wildlife vet, and after a couple of sheds, should be good to be released, weather permitting. We may have to wait till spring, as it may take him too long to find a winter den than a single day will allow him. If you need to use any type of trap in your house, please use something that does not make the animal suffer. Glue traps are cruel and awful.

[frickyeahsnakesandstuff]

The face of a grumpy old man

[herpsandbirds]

Sonoran Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis), family Colubridae, Arizona, USA

photograph by Sue Snyder Tessmann

[loracarol]

Can anyone give me deets about sonoran gopher snakes? My neighbor found out I have snakes and is trying to rehome his.

[fantasyfanaticsphotographyworld]

Pituophis catenifer, Gopher Snake. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. April 2022.