How to Tell a Gopher Snake from a Rattlesnake
Thank you, Miles Sieling of Monte Nido for posting this on Nextdoor, April 6.
It is Spring and that means a lot more animals and critters roaming around and that includes snakes. I remember someone posting this image last year but it has been lost over time and there have been many recent posts asking for snake identification so I figured I would repost it.
Take a moment to look at the two pictures and familiarize yourself with the difference between the gopher snake and rattlesnake. Don’t rely on the rattle warning you because some rattlesnakes won’t always rattle, and some gopher snakes can mimic the rattle by beating their tail on the ground. Also, I have seen many people giving a wrong answer to questions about “what kind of snake / spider is this?” If you are not 100% sure or are just guessing, please do not comment. You could be sentencing a gopher snake to death by crying “Rattlesnake!”, or worse, tell someone that the rattlesnake they posted is an innocent gopher or garter snake which could end in disaster.
Happy Spring and Stay Safe!