types of snakes in california

Hey all I was just wondering one thing.? I know that this is not a corn snake issue but what kind of snakes are there in southern california. I know there are rattle snakes and everyone can tell what they look like but I was wondering about the rest of them. Are there rat snakes gopher snakes. I mean what all is out there. Also any links to pics would help. thnx.

We certainly have gopher snakes and kings. Garters or something like them are around. Red Racers, and of course Northern and Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes and Mojave Greens. Around San Diego you can run into Red Diamond Rattlers, and I think there are some Great Basin Rattlers around the Nevada/California border. I'll have to ask my friend Bob when he's here for the weekend with his Great Basins. Oh I think we get red-ringed neck snakes too. I recall my dad bringing one home that he found at the Veteran's Administration hospital in Brentwood. We had to return it to the gardens as it wouldn't feed in captivity. There's probably a few other species of rattler that is on the California/Mexico border.

Don't forget about the Western Diamond Back Rattle Snake or how about the California King Snake.

I listed the king, and I didn't think we got the western diamondback quite this far west. I don't remember what the territories were on all the rattlers, as it was a few years ago when I was checking it out.

My bad on missing the kings you posted. I used to live in Ventura county (Newbury Park) and I had seen Western's as far west as Oxnard.

Really??? I've never seen them in my area. Only So. Pacifics and Mojaves are found around here. I'll look at Bob's book when he gets here with his Great Basins and take a look at the territory.

Yep, really. I was doing construction then and we were obviously upsetting them changing the lay of the land. I was relocating about two a week. I was know as the crazy guy who would box em up and take them home.

I have seen the papers list Southerns as a Southern Diamondback. Evidently they've found a new species that no one has ever heard of! They see the diamond pattern and assume it's a diamondback, never looking to see if the tail is banded with black and white. People have no clue anyway. They think a gopher snake is a rattlesnake! :angry01: