Pituophis catenifer

The backs of gopher snakes are yellowish or cream and have many dark blotches. They usually have a drak stripe across their head between the eyes and from each eye to the angle of the jaw. Their belly is usually cream or yellowish with dark spots. The scales on their back are keeled (not smooth), and they have a single anal scale. They can reach a total length of around 280 cm, but rarely get to be more than 180 cm long. 

The range extends from southern British Columbia, southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, Minnesota, and Indiana south through almost all of western and central North America to Baja, California, and Sinaloa, and Zacatecas in Mexico.
 

Gopher snakes occur in a wide range of habitats, extending from lowlands to mountains. Their habitats include deserts, prairies, shrublands, woodlands, open coniferous forests, farmlands, and marshes. This snake lives on land, in burrows, and in trees. It stays underground in cold weather and during midday on hot summer days.

Gopher snakes are active from about April through October in the north, and March through November farther south. They mate from April to early June over much of their range. They lay eggs as early as June in some areas or as late as August in other areas. They deposit eggs in burrows that females excavate in loose soil, in spaces beneath large rocks or logs, or in small mammal burrows. Eggs incubate for 50 to 100 days. In many areas, hatchlings emerge in August and September.