Identificaciones de creaturedoctor

Friend sent me a photo of a Gopher Snake for ID. She said it was about 1.5 ft long. Photo credit: S Wu.

Pacific Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer ssp. catenifer)
"Active in the daytime, and at night in hot weather. One of the most commonly seen snakes on roads and trails, especially in the spring when males are actively seeking a mate, and in the fall when hatchlings emerge. A good burrower, climber, and swimmer.
When threatened, a gophersnake will do several things, sometimes one after the other, including: crawling away quickly to escape or hide; freezing up - making the body rigid and kinked up so it won't be noticed or perceived as a snake; and striking at the threat to scare it off. Gophersnakes also use a more dramatic defensive behavior - sometimes a snake will elevate its body and inflate it with air while flattening its head into a triangular shape, hissing loudly, and quickly shaking its tail back and forth to make a buzzing sound."

A Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of California
https://californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/p.c.catenifer.html and

Key to California Gophersnake Subspecies http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gophersnakessubspecies.html

Colubrid Snakes (Family Colubridae) Most colubrids are non-venomous, or have venom that is not known to be harmful to humans, and are mostly harmless. Some colubrids are described as opisthoglyphous "rear-fanged," meaning they have elongated, backward-facing grooved teeth in the back of their upper jaws.

Lots of great photos, range maps, info
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/p.c.catenifer.html

The Reptile Database: https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Pituophis&species=catenifer&search_param=%28%28search%3D%27pacific+gopher+snake%27%29%29

Description, info about this species
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51440-Pituophis-catenifer-catenifer

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/gopher-snake-vs-rattlesnake/