‹ Compare two snakes
Western Rattlesnake vs Gophersnake
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(c) Yan Davidovich, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
Western Rattlesnake
Crotalus oreganus
VenomousAbby Benson, no rights reserved
Gophersnake
Pituophis catenifer
Non-venomousThe quick way to tell
Look at the tail. The rattlesnake has a rattle. The gophersnake's tail tapers to a point, even when it shakes it, and its head is narrow with round pupils.
Tail ★ This settles it
Thin ahead of the rattle.
Tapers evenly; no rattle - but it shakes the tip hard in leaves.
Head
Broad triangular head with a dark cheek stripe bordered by white.
Narrow head with a pointed snout and a dark line through the eye; it can flatten it to look triangular.
Pattern
Pale-edged blotches wider than long, banding near the tail; olive to nearly black.
Dark blotches on yellow to cream, turning into clean crossbands near the tail.
Eyes
Vertical slit pupil; heat-sensing pit between eye and nostril.
Round pupil, small dark eye; no heat-sensing pit.
Pits
A deep heat-sensing pit on each side of the face, between the eye and the nostril.
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
What it does
Coils and rattles; retreats to rocks if given room.
Hisses very loudly, flattens its head and strikes with its mouth closed - all bluff.
Where it lives
Pacific states and the Great Basin: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona, east into western Colorado and southwestern Wyoming, plus British Columbia and Baja California.
Western and central US: Pacific coast east to Indiana and Wisconsin, south through Texas, into Canada and Mexico.