If you obtain a tall 20 gal tank, place some clean branches inside for climbing. Substrate With gopher snakes, there are a couple of different substrates that can be used. If you use potting soil or chips or mulch, the urine and feces can be scooped out with a cat litter scoop, with fresh soil or chips added as needed. Temperature Gopher snakes have the same temperature requirements as corn snakes. To maintain health, the snake must be kept at 75-85 F, the higher temperature being necessary to digest its food.
Temperatures can fall to the lower range at night.
To easily monitor temperature, aquarium self-stick thermometers can be purchased and applied about an inch above the bottom of the tank on the warm side. Hot rocks should never be used. They fluctuate too much, and too many snakes suffer severe ventral burns. An incandescent light bulb in a reflector shield may be set just outside the tank to heat up a basking area during the day as needed. Appliance timers, available at hardware and builders supply stores, can be set to turn the light on and off at set times during the day.