Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm looking for good information on the differences between varieties of gophersnake. I used to have a few that were wild caught in Eldorado county and ranged from 5-6.5 ft long. I always sort of assumed they were pacific gophers but I have not had much luck from pictures being able to determine how exaclty to discern between the varieties with the exception of cape and applegate which seem pretty obvious differences in pattern/color.

The ones I had differed in pattern of most pictures I've seen in that the blotch pattern down the spine was very rounded or diamondesque rather then the square/blocky or even H patterns I am seeing in most pictures of all varieties. Also those blotches were more spaced then most pictures I've seen. The color ranged from a dull straw to tan background and medium bround to redwood for the blotches.

I'd be primarily interested in getting back into gophers with ones of similar pattern to what I used to have although I would be interested in the albino/color morphs.

If the varieties are not very distinct from each other and from nearby areas is there much reason to worry about keeping region/variety pure in breedings?

Any help and info would be great, I loved these when I had them in the past and had the first one I caught(at about 4.5 ft long) tamed and sociable in about a day and a half. Used to wander the house as I was a kid and come back to it's tank for feeding.

Where exactly is El Dorado? In my brief time working w/ these wonderful snakes I have discovered that they are some of the most variable snakes around where pattern is concerned. There are a few websites that offer range maps of Gophers. If El Dorado is in CA then www.california herps.com is a very good site. If your animal was collected well within its listed natural range then you can be pretty sure of what it is. For instance, if I collect a Gophersnake from the Santa Monica Mtns in Malibu, I can be pretty sure it's a P.c. annectens (San Diego Gopher) and not a Great Basin, Pacific or Sonoran. IMHO if a Gopher was collected from an area where 2 natural ranges may overlap then its a good bet you've got an intergrade. I recently saw a WC Gopher collected in W. Palmdale that bore characteristics of Great Basins and San Diegos. Post pics of your snakes and check out that website. For my Great Basin and my Pacific, when it comes time to breed them, I will breed them only to Gophers from their same locality. Just my preferrence.

reako45

El Dorado county is in the foothills of Northern California between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.

Unfortunately I do not have any surviving pics of the gophers I had back then that I know of. I'll double check with my parents to see if they have any from my childhood photo's.