Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Went to one of my Coastal Horn Lizard spots, no CHL but I did see some cool stuff

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1.1 Bearded Dragon (Drago,Medusa)
1.1 Desert Iguana(Dima, Dianne)
1.0 Green Iguana (Igor)
0.1.1 Chuckwalla (roxy,Little Chuckie)
1.3.5 Collared Lizard (Fred, Wilma, Betty, #1,2,3,4,5, KND)
1.1 Desert Leopard Lizard (Simba, Kimba)
0.1 Calif. Kingsnake (Keebler)
0.1 Hamster (Tofu)
1.1 Kids
0.1 Wife

one more pic.

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1.1 Bearded Dragon (Drago,Medusa)
1.1 Desert Iguana(Dima, Dianne)
1.0 Green Iguana (Igor)
0.1.1 Chuckwalla (roxy,Little Chuckie)
1.3.5 Collared Lizard (Fred, Wilma, Betty, #1,2,3,4,5, KND)
1.1 Desert Leopard Lizard (Simba, Kimba)
0.1 Calif. Kingsnake (Keebler)
0.1 Hamster (Tofu)
1.1 Kids
0.1 Wife

Ok guys its a gopher snake. I dont know the subspecies because i dont know exactly where it was found. If it was found in the southern part of the snakes its a San Diego Gopher, if it was found it the north its a Pacific Gopher. Bullsnakes are it the same family but they are actually a different species out west. Just clarifying things up. By any chance was it dead. Looks to me like it was a DOR.

What is that in the second picture?

I would think possibly a gopher snake/bull snake or some species of rat snake. But identification of colubrid snakes from one picture like this can be almost impossible. There is so much variation and you usually must look for things such as single or divided anal plates, and belly scales to tell some snakes apart. I still carry a field guide in case I run across colubrids. Identification of venomous snakes is so much easier.

If OTF can tell us whether it hissed or not, that would be a big clue.
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246

the wingless fuzzy wasp? The snake I thought was a Pacific Gopher snake, but now that a bul snake came up, I looked it up in the fieldguide and it could be a bull snake. No I didn't here any hissing

Cecil
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1.1 Bearded Dragon (Drago,Medusa)
1.1 Desert Iguana(Dima, Dianne)
1.0 Green Iguana (Igor)
0.1.1 Chuckwalla (roxy,Little Chuckie)
1.3.5 Collared Lizard (Fred, Wilma, Betty, #1,2,3,4,5, KND)
1.1 Desert Leopard Lizard (Simba, Kimba)
0.1 Calif. Kingsnake (Keebler)
0.1 Hamster (Tofu)
1.1 Kids
0.1 Wife

Looks like a bullsnake to me too.

Bull snake is considered a type of Gopher snake, or visa versa. Just depends on where you are. Some subspecies are called different things in different areas. In Texas, we call them all Bullsnakes, of course.
Bullsnakes commonly hiss very very loudly when confronted...like a gas main leaking, and sound very much like a rattlesnake when they do it. It's possible to run across one that doesn't hiss if it's not aggitated very much, or it's cold. Last one I caught was a whopper. Over 4 ft. of mean, loud, & pissed off hisser. They're constrictors, and also a bit "bitey"! So watch the fingers.
I'd still have to keep my options open on this one. I study Texas venomous snakes for the most part, so California common snakes is a different ballgame, but I still believe it's one of the species I listed.
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246

It is without question a gopher snake. They are very common. The second picture is a velvet ant female, males are winged.