Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just got a Gopher from the Alvord Desert of Oregon. Superb snake that did not (and still does not) bite, hiss nor musk.

Typical coloration & patterns, except that he does not seem as dark in his front third as some I've seen. Saddles & blotches are rich, chocolate brown. No band on top of head; it only runs thru eyes.

Length is about 2.5 feet. I'm guessing that he's 3-4 years old, based on my knowledge of colubrids. Hatchings are 8-10 inches and grow about that same length about every year.

Comments? Advice on sexing & aging?

(If you saw his vivarium, you might faint. 60-gallon, naturalistic, with rock ledge & wood pile, it even has sprigs of sagebrush & rabbit brush.)

Can't tell you the age but if you post pics of the tail, especially the ventral view, we might be able to give you a pretty accurate guess.
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Diego

SWCHR

I meant to say "a pretty accurate guess of the snake's sex"!!
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Diego

SWCHR

I got instructions once weeks ago, but it seemed that I needed to post my photo (which will be large size, not downsized) on some other Web site, then refer to that URL for this site. Major hassle that I don't want to do.

Can I post directly to this site? What's the easiest way to post photos?

That really is the easist way and it's not as much of a hassle as it may seem.
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Diego

SWCHR

Inconclusive. When I first glanced at tail vent, it seemed somewhat thick and puffed out. Later when I looked, it looked uniformly wide at the vent, so no sign of bulging hemipenes.

From the vent, tail is uniformly thin. It does not seem to taper much, but it is long.

I'm inclined to think that this is a female, but I've been wrong before with a Cal King who had these same traits and later was probed and determined to be a male.

Further comments?

Great Basins are highly variable in color and pattern. I know what you're talking about when you expect the front 1/3 to be dark in pattern - I've seen a lot like that, but there are many individuals which lack dark coloration.

I think 3 years is a pretty safe bet when it comes to guessing the snake's age. Here is a Great Basin that I caught in the Las Vegas area in 2006. She seems to be gaining an orange tint as she ages.

Tim

Third Eye