Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Howdy yall,

I bought a baby Sonoran gopher snake. I kept him in a 75 gallon tank, and now, not yet 2 years old, he's about 3 feet long! Is that large or what! I recently saw one of his siiblings at a herp show, and it only measured about a foot. That's weird because he doesn't eat that much. I know a lot about the natural history of reptiles and amphibians, but this puzzles me. What's making him shoot up?

DAVE

He's not that big. I've had Gophers up over 5ft in 2 years. The sibling that is about a foot and 2years old is obviously not being fed correctly.

Hope this helps
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1.1 00 Queretaro Mountain Kingsnake
2.1 01 Texas Glossy snakes
1.4 01 Western Hognose
1.1 03 100% Het Albino Western Hognose
1.1 00 Striped Het Albino Pacific Gophers
1.2 03 Tri-color hognose
1.1 00 Black Milks
0.1 01 Black Milk
1.2 03 Tarahumara Mountain Kings

THANKS FOR THE REPLY

WOW!

I knew that gophers had the potential to exceed 8 feet, but never to grow that quickly! Yours must be really healthy! You're right; the sibling was probably not fed correctly. It was like the "runt of the litter." Long after all of the other gopher snakes had been sold, the tiny one stayed there. He was about 8 inches at the time. I finally found that he had been bought by a 10-year-old. My gopher has done really well. Thanks for the info.

DAVE

I have an 03 Great Basin Gopher, Pituophis melanoleucus deserticola, that is been averaging 2/3 of an inch growth per week since I acquired him last October, about 8 inches in 3 months. I feed him every 5-7 days. He started on fuzzies and now he gets an adult mouse every 7 days. I wish I had a pic to post as he is a great looking animal.