Well, they get bigger than most corns, milks and kings so they need bigger enclosures. They also go on hunger strikes, sometimes in the Fall and sometimes for no apparent reason. Those would be the two "difficulty factors" I'd keep in mind when keeping Black Pines.

As far as temperment, I've kept San Diego Gophers and Great Basin Gophers. I've also caught a ton of Pacific Gophers while vacationing in California. I've found these subspecies to be as tame as Corn Snakes. There may be other subspecies of Gophers with more aggressive temperments, but I've never kept/caught them.

I've only had one Bull Snake, which I raised from a baby. I found it to be "squirmy" even as an adult. It never seemed to enjoy being handled. I also found it to have a very aggressive feeding response, wanting to eat all the time and often attacking (as a feeding response) when I serviced the cage.

I have five Black Pines, and they each have their own "personality." One was quite aggressive, striking while it was still partially in the egg. It is still very aggressive more than a year and a half later. I also have two that are as tame as Corn Snakes. The other two I'd describe as "figidty." They're not "mean," but at the same time aren't at ease with being handled.

Pacific Gopher that I found on Mount Hamilton in April:

Third Eye

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