The Gopher snake as a pet: the pros and cons

Find Out Whether or Not a Gopher Snake Will Make a Good Pet

If you are a beginning pet snake collector or thinking about getting a pet snake, you should consider a gopher snake. They are always on the list of the best snakes for beginners. The reasons for this are that they are very docile, easy to handle, do not need special housing, and are easily fed. They probably have the best temperament of all the beginner type pet snakes. A hand-raised ground snake will be very tame and very predictable when out of its enclosures. They will also seem to enjoy interacting with you. They do not normally have health-related problems and rarely get sick. While you can’t teach them tricks or walk them, they make great pets as you can still interact with them by handling them.

You will find that your pet gopher snake is not dangerous to you or others. Although there are times when they get scared and can hit or bite. This is not a big deal since they are not poisonous and their teeth are relatively small. They’ll let you know when they plan to attack so you can stop doing whatever makes them uncomfortable. The fear of being bitten is much worse than being bitten. If they think their hand is food, they can bite it and not let go. This is easy to manage with a little grain alcohol (not rubbing alcohol) in your mouth while keeping your mouth down so the alcohol doesn’t go up your nose or flood your mouth.

If you plan on showing your pet snake to other people, this pet snake is probably the best for this as they are very docile. Go slow when introducing him to strangers. It won’t be long before it gets used to being handled by others and you can give people their first chance to handle a live snake.

Your pet gopher snake is not likely to be a feeding problem as most of them are not. They will readily eat frozen/thawed mice, making feeding a breeze. Another advantage is that they only need to be fed every 10 days or so. Don’t handle food with bare hands, as the smell may make your pet think your hand is food.

The gopher snake enclosure does not have to be anything special. The main requirement is that it be at least two-thirds the length of the snake so they can stretch. Heat one side of the enclosure to 75 to 85 degrees leaving the other side cool. Provide almost any material except cedar chips for the substrate. Indoor and outdoor rugs work well and are easy to keep clean. You need to have a place for your pet to hide. This can be as simple as a box with a hole in it. Make sure the top of the enclosure is securely fastened so your pet doesn’t escape. An escaped snake can be very irritating to some members of the family.

As with most animals, there are some downsides or disadvantages to having a gopher snake as a pet. They defecate from time to time, so you will have to clean the enclosure, which is not a big deal. Probably the biggest downside is that when provoked, frightened or stressed they often release musky along with their poop which really stinks and the smell is hard to get rid of. One turn off for some people is that snakes usually eat mice or rats. While some snakes require live snakes, your pet gopher snake will be happy with frozen thawed ones.

They may try to hit or bite you if you haven’t touched them for a while. This is easy to overcome by handling them frequently. After all, isn’t this what a pet is for? The more you interact with your pet, the more you will enjoy it and keep it friendly and warm.

As you can see, the pros far outweigh the cons of having a pet gopher snake. For best results with your pet snake, you should get one that was born in captivity. Only try to capture and keep one as a pet if you are an experienced snake collector. Due to its even temperament, lack of feeding problems, need for special enclosures, and ease of handling, the gopher snake will make a great pet for both the novice and experienced collector.