page_title: Pacific gopher snake
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Pacific gopher snake / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Pacific Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer catenifer). Taken in Novato, California, United States. Dead from unknown cause. From the size and the fact that it was found in May before the breeding season begins, assumably juvenile from previous year's clutch. Picture for size comparison.
context_page_description: The Pacific gopher snake is a subspecies of large non-venomous colubrid snake native to the western coast of the United States.
context_section_description: Pacific gopher snake adults range in size from 3–7 feet (91–213 cm) in total length. However, most of the subspecies reach a length of 4–5 feet (122–152 cm). The hatchlings are relatively long, and they have been recorded at lengths upward of 20 inches (51 cm).
  The Pacific gopher snake has a base color ranging from yellow to dark brown and has a gray coloring on the sides of the body. It is a spotted snake, with the spots being dark brown. Usually there are 41 to 99 spots on the body, while the tail spots range from 14 to 33. The side of the body has 2 or 3 rows of alternating black and brown spots.
  A snake with keeled scales, and a narrow head that is wider than the neck, the Pacific gopher snake also displays a protruding rostral scale on the tip of the snout. The two most common base colors are straw and straw gray, though the species' color varies widely. The dorsal blotches, or saddles, are well-defined and generally dark to chocolate brown, though some specimens have had black blotches. The side blotches are often brown or gray. The back of the neck is dark brown. In many areas, such as Solano County, California, the snake can be found in a striped morph.
  The ventral side may be cream-colored to yellowish with dark spots. On the dorsal side, especially near the tail, there is often a reddish coloration.
caption: The size of this juvenile Pacific gopher snake is shown by comparison with the hands holding it.
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