Bull Snake Facts

Warning: Even if you have theoretical knowledge about snake identification by characteristics, you should not try to handle these reptiles, venomous or non-venomous, without proper guidance.

Native to arid regions of the United States of America, the bull snake is a sub-species of gopher snake which is typically characterized by its amazing ability of mimicking the dreaded rattlesnake with whom it shares its natural habitat. The flattening of its head, loud hissing noise, movement of its tail and intense aggression - everything is so perfect that you are bound to get fooled if you come across this species.

Bull Snake Facts and Information

The bull snake (Pituophis catenifer sayi) is a sub-species of gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer) which is predominantly found in North America. It is a non-venomous snake which kills its prey by squeezing it to death by resorting to constriction. With an average length of 8ft, the bull snake is one of the largest species of snakes found in the United States. Given below are more of such interesting facts about this snake species.

Appearance: A non-venomous species that the bull snake is, it is highly dependent on its intimidating appearance and ability to impersonate the rattlesnake when it comes to self-defense. It can grow on to attain length of 8ft or 1.5m on an average, though the largest specimen recorded measured 2.5m. The species is most often yellow in color, with brown, yellow or black marks on its skin. When threatened, the bull snake flattens its head in such a manner that it resembles a rattlesnake species. Along with this ability, its skin color - which is the combination of yellow, brown and black plays an important role in its impersonation of the rattlesnake.

Geographical Range and Habitat: The geographical range of the bull snake species spans across the United States of America to as far as western Canada in the north and Northern Mexico in the south. In the United States, it is predominantly found in the arid deserts of the west. Other than the arid regions, bull snake habitat also spans across the coniferous forests and open grasslands of North America. In its natural habitat, this snake either occupies the burrows made by rodents or makes a burrow of its own using its specially modified head.

Diet and Hunting: The bull snake is a carnivorous species whose diet mostly consists of the rodents found in this region. Other than mice and rats, it also feeds on small rabbits, pocket gophers and ground dwelling birds. At times, this snake also feeds on the eggs of these ground dwelling birds. The young ones, on the other hand, are known to feed on lizards and other insects. Being a constrictor species, the bull snake grabs its prey by mouth and slowly constricts it using its entire length. When the prey dies due to lack of oxygen, the bull devours its whole prey.

Reproduction: The mating rituals in this reptile species are carried out in spring, following which the female burrows in sand and lays around 5-20 eggs. It takes 9-12 weeks for the eggs to incubate after which the hatchlings emerge. The individuals belong to this sub-species of the gopher snake are 1.5ft long at the birth itself. A bull snake has an average lifespan of 12-16 years in wild unless it comes in encounter with one of its numerous predators including the birds of prey like hawks and kites.

Bull Snake Care

Though they appear to be quite aggressive, bull snakes are quite docile in nature and this makes them one of the most popular choice when it comes to exotic pets. Many breeders in the United States breed these snakes in captivity, so it is not at all difficult to get one as a pet. If you intend to keep a bull snake as a pet, you will have to make sure that you abide by the following norms of keeping snakes as pets:

• It should be kept in a glass cage which is at least 8×4ft in size.
• The temperature within this cage should be between 75°F to 87°F.
• The glass cage should be thoroughly cleaned every once in a week.
• You will have to use heating pad or heating bulb to keep the cage warm.
• You will have to use a fluorescent light to create a light cycle which is close to the natural light cycle in wild.
• Your pet snake should be provided with clean drinking water every day.
• It can be fed frozen/thawed rodents every once in two weeks.
• Being a burrowing snake, you will have to make sure that you provide it with a few places to hide.

Other than these facts, which are likely to come handy if you keep a bull snake as your pet, there also exist some myths about this species. That it kills and eats rattlesnakes is one of the most popular bull snake myths that you are likely to come across. It is believed that this, and other such myths, were spread to protect it from human onslaught as this species plays a crucial role in keeping a check on the number of rats, mice and other vermin in the surroundings.