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just got her want to make sure of what it is

Looks like a Great Basin gopher...

thx thats what i thought but its better to make sure

looks like a bull to me w/ that sharply pointed snout.......

Good looking animal but boesn't look quite right for anything to me...might be a hybrid?

First few inches and head looks like bull, then the mid body looks different from anything else I can think of. Maybe a new pic would help.
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- Matt

1.0 Black Milk '04
1.0 Andean Milk '06
0.1 Eastern King '97
0.1 Bullsnake '09

The back of the head and neck look a bit like deserticola, but could be Bull as well. Aren't there zones where the two ssp intergrade?

reako45

Generally deserticola and sayi are separated along either side of the continental divide (Pacific slope and Great Basin vs. Mississippi Drainage) I've seen some including this one that suggest intergrade but I'll bet the intergrade in this case was the result of manipulation (breeder). Always more difficult to tell from a photo than from one in your own hands...
Even some wild caught's are suspect these days with the number of individuals either escaping captivity or otherwise being liberated well outside of their typical ranges...

i do belive it is a cross the pair was bought at a convention in georgia

hey guys...

this is really going to sound harsh but....

there is actually nothing about this snake that is even remotely characteristic of great basin gopher snake (Pituophis c. desrticola). the shape of the head, the number and shape of the dorsal saddles, and the cervical pattern are all indicative of affinis or sayi. I would not even suspect that this animal has any deserticola influence.... sorry to those who suggested this, no offense intended.....

If you guessed great basin gopher snake i strongly suggest that you go to the literature, and other online resources to become more familiar with that group. Great basin gopher snakes are generally very distinct looking animals.

I have seen individuals from far western populations that are extremely influence by pacific gophers (Pituophis c. catenifer), and individuals from the far southeastern part of the range that show sonoran gophersnake (P.c. affinis), influences but the neck pattern is always the key diagnostic character. IMHO the snake pictured appears to be neither an affinis influence deserticola nor a deserticola influenced affinis......!

southwestern sayi or an affinis would be my guess....

Ok, so that is a harsh, blunt, and tactless way to say it but there you go. Let me fish around in my photos and post an example of a classic deserticola to make my point. Give me a day or two but it is coming.

In a good or classic example of deserticola you will see black or very dark cervical or neck saddles join together very cleanly to encircle the ground or base color giving the impression of light spots on a dark back ground. In general the dorsal saddles are cleaner, smaller, and more romboid in shape.

In the snake pictured we see pale cervical saddles that are irregularly and poorly connected at best and the body saddles are relatively large and squarish in shape.

None taken! Lord knows I've been harsh and unforgiving here before and probably will be again. As for the snake, it's certainly not a typical anything that I've ever seen. That first neck saddle suggested GB but you're right, little else did. Time to run some pcr's. Just what did the individuals that originally sold this snake call it anyway? Probably the first question that we should have asked?

There are all manner of morphs being produced these days or random snakes showing up in pet stores, more than a few of which are mislabeled. To the snake's credit, they possess an enormous amount of potential for genetic variation. To the carefree or random breeder, almost any morph, cross or other variation can be produced. It's some of the practices along these lines that get me wrapped around an axle more than anything else...

Authoritative yes, harsh, no. Anyway, let me put my neck on the chopping block and suggest the possibility that, if in fact it is a hybrd with deserticola, then perhaps the neck pattern diagnositic of deserticola may have been compromised?...that is a question, not an assertion.

Not trying to be a dork but this incredible post just came up on FHF today. The reason I'm including it here is because there is an amazing neonate deserticola which just happens to have a rather uncommon neck pattern...and is also one of the most awesome looking ones I've seen. It's close to the bottom of the post just above the Collared Lizard shots. Don't miss this...one of the best, most mind-boggling field herp posts I've ever seen!!!

Dang again, WTF? Let's try it again...

...go to FHF and look at: California: A Spring, Summer and Fall Compilation (DUW) by Sam Murray...it's well worth it!

...I was using an img tag rather than a url tag...
www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29626&sid=312e71a6ab57ce7c04eaeb83ad967764

Thanks for "linking" this one Brad regardless of how long it took. It was worth your pain! Exceptional photos throughout. Always marveled at those striped phase Pacific gophers and those pics make me appreciate them that much more.

The other thing that's really fun about this hobby relates to the old "beauty in the eye of the beholder" thing. There really is a snake for everyone and vice versa. I really like that flannel gray San Diego. Those so cal GBs have ALWAYS been my personal favorite locality types of these wide ranging gophers. Why they are not more popular generally really mystifies me but as indicated, I like that gray SDG...others do not

Makes me wish I could get out more. Currently, two young men in college is keeping me painfully close to home for a couple more years...