Snake snuck into the finch cage?!?

I need help to identify a snake I received from a friend. The snake was found inside her society finch cage. To get there, the snake had to crawl into the garage, from the garage to the family room, up an armchair, onto a bookcase and through the 1/4" bars into the cage. When discovered, it had just finished eating one of her birds (the bulge was quite prominent!).

Her boyfriend removed the snake from the birdcage using hotdog tongs. The snake was then shoved into a coffee can, and the coffee can was put into a one-gallon ziplock bag JUST INCASE the snake managed to open the lid to the coffee can.

My friend, Pat, then phoned me, in a state of panic, and begged me to PLEASE get the snake away from her house. She is terrified by snakes, and has been known to scream and run at the sight of a garter snake twenty feet away and moving in the opposite direction. Prior to being captured, it had struck at Brian, the boyfriend, and vibrated its tail in a fair imitation of a rattle snake. It obviously is not, but that makes little difference to Pat's peace of mind.

I went over with a critter carrier and transferred the snake from the coffee can, all the while listening to Pat begging me not to open the can JUST IN CASE. The snake seems in good health, between 18 and 24 inches long, nicely patterned. I am not an expert in local fauna, but I think it is a Pacific gopher, one to two years old. From the tail shape, my guess would be female, but it would be just that, a guess. Her house is nowhere near any open fields or orchards, so I am not sure how it came to enter her livingroom, but it may have been found by a local kid and released when Mommy went screaming into the bathroom (pure conjecture, but a lovely image LOL)

In any case, here are some photos I shot today, having let the snake (Chuckie Jr) be alone in the vivarium for a couple of days to digest its meal and get over some of the stress. If someone could please let me know for sure if this is a Pacific gopher, or, if not, what it might be, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

It's a gopher snake. A nice looking one too. If you're looking to keep it, they make great pets. Or you could take it and let it go if you are remote enough up there.

I had one of those for a while. Its a gopher snake like stated above.. Makes a GREAT little snake..

Originally Posted by Wilomn

It's a gopher snake. A nice looking one too. If you're looking to keep it, they make great pets. Or you could take it and let it go if you are remote enough up there.

Thanks, I think he's a looker, too!

About a decade ago, I had an adult gopher that was rescued from a dog attack. He healed nicely, although with some large scars, and I let him go in a field after about a year. He was well over five feet, and very sweet natured. He was so injured when I got him, he had no fight in him, and by the time he was well, he was used to being handled. It was that experience that led me into keeping corn snakes.

Chuckie Jr is much younger, and I wasn't sure about keeping him. He was so stressed out when I got him, I was tempted to turn him loose in a field that same night. After handling him today, and seeing how beautiful he is, I think I will be keeping him. When I find out for sure what gender he is, I'll give some thought to finding him a mate. Are there other morphs in gophers, as there are in corns?

I live in northern California, about an hour south of Sacramento. There is still plenty of agriculture around here, so finding habitat wouldn't be a problem. The circumstances under which I got him are so so bizarre, I feel like he was destined to come to me. Just navigating his way through the house and into the bird cage earns him a few free mice.

Applegate albino gophers are GREAT looking.. skfu on here has a couple for sale.. You might hit him up.. I can vouch for the health and quality of his snakes..

Originally Posted by wot_racing

Applegate albino gophers are GREAT looking.

I've only found a few pics, but they looked stunning. They are also well out of my price range for now. I can't seriously consider anything until I have Chuck Jr probed so I at least know what I have.

If you can get a good clear shot of the ventral side of its tail, we might be able to tell you if you have a boy or girl.

There is also a guy in Lodi, www.snakemuseum.com, who can tell you in person.

They're neat snakes.

Originally Posted by Wilomn

If you can get a good clear shot of the ventral side of its tail, we might be able to tell you if you have a boy or girl.

I'll try to get a pic tomorrow. The only thing I have to compare to is my corns. Chuck Jr's tail reduces far sooner than my similarly sized corns that I know are male.

There is also a guy in Lodi, www.snakemuseum.com, who can tell you in person.They're neat snakes.

I was lucky enough to find a hobbyist breeder here in Modesto. She probed my adult creamsicle as well as my two subadult males. I'm not sure when I'll be able to catch her, but she can give me a definitive answer. For now, I am thinking of it as "her", despite the name.