Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys. In the last 3 days I have caught 2 young pacific gopher snakes here in Santa Cruz, CA. I found them both in meadows that are absolutely overrun with ground squirrels. My question is, do adult pacific gopher snakes feed on ground squirrels? I don't think that gopher snakes grow very big here; the biggest I've seen was about 3-4 feet long. Besides, we are in a coastal climate that has cool nights for most of the year, and is only warm for about 7 months out of the year, and is rarely hot. So I don't know if gopher snakes grow big enough to tackle a large ground squirrel. Maybe I'm underestimating them though.

My second question is, what do baby gopher snakes eat? The ones I found look way too small to eat mice yet (they are only hatchlings). Do they hunt baby mice, or do they feed primarily on lizards? We have a bunch of fence lizards and alligator lizards around here, but I haven't seen any near where I found the gopher snakes. Oh well.

I'm going to keep looking and try to catch a big gopher snake! The weather has been perfect for snakes recently.

Gopher snakes are awesome. I think I might sell my albino black rat snake and get a bullsnake instead...

How about a couple pics if you can? The snakes you collected are sound like they are from last year's clutches. I would feed them a mouse pinky or small mouse fuzzy to see if they will take it. An adult pacific gopher can tackle a medium rat. I'm sure the gophersnakes in your area raid a squirrel nest or two when they need to.

Terry Parks

>>Hey guys. In the last 3 days I have caught 2 young pacific gopher snakes here in Santa Cruz, CA. I found them both in meadows that are absolutely overrun with ground squirrels. My question is, do adult pacific gopher snakes feed on ground squirrels? I don't think that gopher snakes grow very big here; the biggest I've seen was about 3-4 feet long. Besides, we are in a coastal climate that has cool nights for most of the year, and is only warm for about 7 months out of the year, and is rarely hot. So I don't know if gopher snakes grow big enough to tackle a large ground squirrel. Maybe I'm underestimating them though.
>>
>>My second question is, what do baby gopher snakes eat? The ones I found look way too small to eat mice yet (they are only hatchlings). Do they hunt baby mice, or do they feed primarily on lizards? We have a bunch of fence lizards and alligator lizards around here, but I haven't seen any near where I found the gopher snakes. Oh well.
>>
>>I'm going to keep looking and try to catch a big gopher snake! The weather has been perfect for snakes recently.
>>
>>Gopher snakes are awesome. I think I might sell my albino black rat snake and get a bullsnake instead...

I didn't keep the snakes, I let them go where I found them. I'd rather see these hatchlings grow up and contribute to the population!

I was asking what these baby snakes would most likely eat in the wild. I mean, can baby snakes eat a lot of baby rodents in the wild? Or do they feed on lizards? I guess you're right about those squirrels - there are plenty of nests around here to raid...

I really wish I had my camera with me when I caught these snakes. They were beautiful!

Yes, baby gopher snakes can find and eat baby mice. They also can eat small lizards. The hachling snakes can feed of a yoke sac they have when they hatch and leave the egg. The ones you found can find mice nests with baby mice and prey on small lizards.

Terry Parks

>>I didn't keep the snakes, I let them go where I found them. I'd rather see these hatchlings grow up and contribute to the population!
>>
>>I was asking what these baby snakes would most likely eat in the wild. I mean, can baby snakes eat a lot of baby rodents in the wild? Or do they feed on lizards? I guess you're right about those squirrels - there are plenty of nests around here to raid...
>>
>>I really wish I had my camera with me when I caught these snakes. They were beautiful!