Just a bull snake

grizzly

Active Member
Dec 3, 2013
195
1
UT
Yep... blow snake, bull snake, gopher snake. They are all the same thing and totally harmless. I've had dozens for pets. I usually give them a mouse or two for a meal and let them go. I had one that liked to lay next to my yellow lab in the sun in the backyard for a summer before he wandered off. Neither the dog or snake ever bothered the other, they just shared the same patch of sun.

PS... The only 100% true way to verify a blow snake from a rattler is to look at the pupils. Scale pattern can vary, head shape can vary, some rattlers don't have rattles, some blow snakes hiss and shake their tails like a rattle, etc...

But if they have round pupils, they're harmless. If they have elliptical pupils, they're rattlers.

DON'T KILL SNAKES!!!

They are protected wildlife in many states just like other wildlife. If you wouldn't kill a grouse or duck or deer just because of a "fear" or "hatred" of them, then don't kill snakes either. Just leave them alone or help them off the road and you can both move along. Its the adult way to handle another living creature.

Also, if you ever come across a Rubber Boa then you're really in luck. They are some of the coolest and most docile snakes anywhere and they live right here in the Rocky Mountains. Always make sure to get them moved out of harm's way if you find one!
 

dirtclod Az.

Veteran member
Jan 26, 2018
1,637
444
Arizona
Yep... blow snake, bull snake, gopher snake. They are all the same thing and totally harmless. I've had dozens for pets. I usually give them a mouse or two for a meal and let them go. I had one that liked to lay next to my yellow lab in the sun in the backyard for a summer before he wandered off. Neither the dog or snake ever bothered the other, they just shared the same patch of sun.

PS... The only 100% true way to verify a blow snake from a rattler is to look at the pupils. Scale pattern can vary, head shape can vary, some rattlers don't have rattles, some blow snakes hiss and shake their tails like a rattle, etc...

But if they have round pupils, they're harmless. If they have elliptical pupils, they're rattlers.

DON'T KILL SNAKES!!!

They are protected wildlife in many states just like other wildlife. If you wouldn't kill a grouse or duck or deer just because of a "fear" or "hatred" of them, then don't kill snakes either. Just leave them alone or help them off the road and you can both move along. Its the adult way to handle another living creature.

Also, if you ever come across a Rubber Boa then you're really in luck. They are some of the coolest and most docile snakes anywhere and they live right here in the Rocky Mountains. Always make sure to get them moved out of harm's way if you find one!

I bought a Rubber Boa at the .99c store.
 

jtm307

Active Member
Jan 12, 2016
165
6
Wyoming
I was once fishing in an area known to have a lot of rattlesnakes. As I was walking to a fishing spot, I stepped on a very large snake. My first though was "rattlesnake" and is scared the schitte out of me until I realized it was a bull snake, still the biggest snake I've ever seen.
 

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,796
2,161
Eastern Nebraska
Bull snakes are great to have around your house. They do zero harm and prey on a lot of different pests that can do your property harm.