The Gopher Snake is a member of the family Colubridae and is usually around 36-100 inches long. It is generally a yellow to cream color with large black, brown, or reddish blotches on their back and smaller ones along their sides. Most gopher snakes have a dark line between the eyes and another that runs from behind the eyes to the angle of the jaw. The gopher snake is slow moving and likes to find its prey in holes, burrows and rocks. It will go after prey items such as rodents, lizards and birds. They use constriction to kill their prey. They are diurnal and can be spotted heating themselves up on sun soaked rocks. The Gopher snake is non venomous and uses a loud hiss and shakes its tail to ward off predators. This action resembles of a rattlesnake and most predators will try and avoid a rattle snake. In the winter the gopher snake hibernates in a den. Males go through a rigorous mating ritual where they tangle together. Once a snake does mate with a female, the female will lay a clutch of approximately 2 to 24 eggs. In the spring they will hatch and in only 3 to 4 years they will reach maturity.