A young gopher snake was brought into the care of Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society after it was found inside and on its own.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society

It may look like a rattlesnake, but this harmless little snake is a far cry from its venomous cousin. 

Gopher snakes are relatively harmless and at this time of year they should be huddled away hiding from the cold.

But that wasn’t the case for a young great basin gopher snake who ended up in the care of Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society earlier this month.

“It shouldn't have been awake,” Eva Hartmann, Founder of the Society, told iNFOnews.ca. “It was found in somebody's house inside, so that might have been why it was awake. Because when the outside temperature around the snake is warm they just stay awake.”

Typically during winter snakes and other reptiles will brumate in a similar way to hibernating mammals.

“(Gopher snakes) can survive colder temperatures. They just slow down their heartbeat and breathing, and that's similar to what hibernating mammals do,” Hartmann said. “Because the digestive system is slowed down so much that they can sort of wait out the cold months of the year until it gets warmer again."

Snakes are rarely on their own in the winter. They keep each other warm by curling up in a large groups, also known as a hibernacula.

For this reason, the snake in Interior Wildlife’s care cannot be released back into the wild on its own until temperatures go up again.

This rescued baby Gopher Snake is just 9 inches long.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society

Gopher snakes used to be common in the Okanagan. However, the numbers have been dwindling, at least partly because they are commonly mistaken for rattlesnakes and killed by locals.

“You would find gopher snakes in very similar habitat to rattlesnakes,” Hartmann said. “That's actually one of their... defence mechanisms because they're completely harmless but they look similar to a rattlesnake.”

Both snakes can typically be found in rocky outcrops and although gopher snakes may look like rattlesnakes from afar, the difference can be quite obvious up close.

The most telltale sign is a lack of a rattle at the end of their tales. Gopher snakes instead use an intimidating hissing noise to ward off potential predators. They also have a slightly larger head and a slimmer body than rattlesnakes.

“(It's) illegal to kill gopher snakes or rattlesnakes but some people are afraid of things they don't know,” Hartmann said.

The great basin gopher snake is on the list of threatened species in BC. 

Dwindling habitat, human development and use of rodenticides to poison the mice that gopher snakes eat have all damaged their numbers.

This is especially unfortunate as the species plays an important and useful role in the Okanagan’s ecosystem. They can be helpful pest controllers for rural residents and farmers by keeping unwanted mice and insects at bay.

They are also BC’s largest snake, growing up to two metres in length.

The baby snake in Interior Wildlife’s care has a long way to go until he’s that big, measuring in at less than 50 centimetres long. 

“I think it's important to shine the spotlight on the snake identification and how to farm with snakes around, rather than just putting the spotlight on species that might be cute and cuddly,” Hartmann said. “It's you know not a good enough excuse for people to kill animals just because they don't like them or they think that they will harm them out of non-knowledge.”

More information about Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society can be found on its website here.

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