CALIFORNIA SNAKES

California snakes are commonly found in both Northern and Southern California. Here is some need-to-know information on how to identify California snakes, and how to behave when you encounter California snakes!
While California is home to many types of snakes, there is only one venomous California snake species: the Rattlesnake. California rattlesnakes include: the Western Diamondback, Red Diamond, Sdewinder, Speckled, Southern Pacific, Northern Pacific, Great Basin, and the Mojave Rattlesnake.
Venemous California snakes are not generally aggressive and will retreat if you leave them alone. However, if you strike, threaten or provoke them, rattlesnakes will bite you. If you are hiking in California, be careful not to accidentally tread upon a rattlesnake.
Also, like other California snakes, rattlesnakes are not confined to rural areas. They have been spotted near urban areas, lakeside parks, and even on golf courses. Moreover, startled rattlesnakes may not rattle in warning before striking defensively.
The California Poison Control Center reports more than 800 rattlesnake bites each year. While many of these are “dry” bites, meaning no venom is injected, all bites from California snakes require immediate medical treatment.
However, the most common California snakes are harmless Gopher snakes. Gopher snakes are found throughout California, and are absent only from the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Unfortunately for Gopher snakes, they are often misidentified as rattlesnakes and killed. If you annoy these usually benign and easy-going California snakes, they can quickly become defensive. They will glare at you, flatten their heads, hiss, and vibrate their tails like a rattlesnake. While these actions are meant to drive away predators, gopher snakes will strike if provoked.
California Gopher snakes are yellowish or cream-colored and have brown or reddish blotches on their back. These California snakes are large – sometimes reaching 6 feet in length! They live in the desert among rocks and sands, and they are skilled climbers. They also hide in rodent burrows and under flat rocks, logs, and boards, and they prefer thin, open grassy areas to forested habitats.

Gopher snakes prey upon rodents, rabbits and lizards, killing them by the method of constriction. However, they are also the victims of larger predators such as mammals, predatory birds – i.e. hawks – and other snakes.
If you are bitten by California snakes, stay calm! This is to avoid elevating the heart rate, which could accelerate the circulation of venom in the body. Keep the area of the bite below heart level, immobilize the affected area, and receive medical treatment as soon as possible. Medical treatment usually involves application of an antivenom to block tissue and nerve damage, as well as blood-clotting common with rattlesnake bites.