| Sonoran Gopher Snake | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
| Genus: | Pituophis |
| Species: | P. catenifer |
| Subspecies: | P. c. affinis |
| Trinomial name | |
| Pituophis catenifer affinis (Hallowell, 1852) |
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| Synonyms | |
|
Pityophis affinis Hallowell, 1852 |
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The Sonoran Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis) is a subspecies of the nonvenomous Gopher Snake, a colubrid found throughout the southwestern United States.
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It is found from west Texas across the U.S. southwest to southeast California, and south into the northern states of Mexico. It inhabits primarily arid, desert ecosystems.
They feed on small rodents, hence the name gopher snake.
They are fairly aggressive but can be domesticated, and become very gentle. They have hard tough skin on their noses used to burrow into gopher holes and the burrows of other rodents. During the winter they hibernate. They invade gopher holes and holes of other burrowing rodents and eat what they need to stay alive in the invaded burrow.