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Bullsnake/Gopher Snake

(Pituophis catenifer)

Identification: 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).   

	Eastern Colorado
Western Colorado

Colorado Distribution: 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.    

Life History: Females lay their eggs generally between late June and mid-July. Hatchlings emerge in late August and September. The diet of this constrictor consist primarily of rodents and other small mammals but also commonly includes lizards, birds, and bird eggs.   

Note: In most of Colorado, this species is known as the Bullsnake, but the standard name for the species is Gopher Snake.