Gophersnake/Bullsnake
One of the most effective rodent control animals in Colorado, the bullsnake and gophersnake are invaluable species to have around homes and in gardens.
About This Species
While all snakes of this species are called bullsnakes in Colorado, they are actually subspecies of gophersnake. There are two species of gophersnake in Colorado: the Pituophis catenifer sayi, or bullsnake, and the Pituophis catenifer deserticola, or Great Basin gophersnake. The bullsnake is mostly found on the eastern plains of Colorado and the Great Basin gophersnake is on the western slope, but they do intermix in southern central Colorado, especially in the San Luis Valley.
More Information:
Physical Characteristics
Upper side yellowish or cream with numerous dark blotches; scales on upper back keeled; anal scale single; vertical plate at opening of windpipe; maximum total length about 254 cm (100 inches), rarely more than 180 cm (71 inches).
Range
Throughout most of Colorado at elevations below about 8,500 feet, mostly below 7,000 feet. Common.
Habitat
Plains grassland, sandhills, riparian areas, marshes, pond and lake edges, stream-margin logjams, rocky canyons, semidesert and mountain shrublands, piñon-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine and other montane woodlands, rural and outlying suburban residential areas, and agricultural areas. Most activity takes place on the ground or in burrows, but these capable climbers sometimes ascend high into trees.
Diet
The diet of this constrictor consist primarily of rodents and other small mammals but also commonly includes lizards, birds, and bird eggs.
Reproduction
Females lay their eggs generally between late June and mid-July. Hatchlings emerge in late August and September.
Threats to Species
Gophersnakes and bullsnakes are non-venomous and harmless to humans, but they do deter predators by mimicking rattlesnakes' coiling behavior, which can cause them to erroneously be killed by humans thinking they are threats.