Cape Gopher Snake

About the Cape Gopher Snake

The Cape gopher snake or Baja gopher snake (Pituophis vertebralis) is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to extreme southern Baja California Sur, Mexico. They have become increasingly popular companions for people interested in the exotic pet trade, due to their extreme color variations and relatively docile behavior. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of Pituophis catenifer.

There has been controversy whether the Baja Gopher Snake is a lower classification of the Cape Gopher Snake. Some say the Baja Gopher Snake should be in a separate sub-species of Pituophis Vertebralis Bimaris, while Cape Gopher Snakes should remain Pituophis Vertebralis Vertebralis.

Many people mistake the two as the same sub species and have cased some cross-breeding between the two. In captivity the bloodlines are nearly all related and breeding has become especially difficult in terms of keeping the bloodlines alive.

The Cape gopher snake is named after the location of its natural habitat, the Baja California Peninsula. Here, the snake can only be found at high elevations on the southern tip of the peninsula, where temperatures usually remain a mild 78 °F (25.5 °C... Wikipedia →