Got this guy from a local reptile expo, sold as a Pituophis Catenifer Catenifer, with no papers.
However, i dont think he looks like one.
And a guy who lives and herps alot where this species lives, says it’s not Catenifer Catenifer.
I would like to hear what you guys think.
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Beautiful animal! Congratulations on a great find! I’m tagging @eorr53 Eric. He should be able to assist!
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It looks like pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus - Northern Pine Snake. Definitely not P.c. catenifer - Pacific Gopher.
Do you have any pics top down in good lighting with out hands obstructing the view, that you can share?
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Thank you very much, that helps alot! I got this picture, is it good enough? Otherwise i can take another.
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Kind of. I was looking for a full body shot so I could see the saddle count. It might be just a northern pine but something about the look of it is giving me hybrid, or ssp cross, vibes.
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Okay thanks, i hope he is not a cross. I will get another picture Wednesday when he has digested his food.
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He may not be. They can be pretty variable. With out any history on the animal there is really no way to tell for sure. They intergrade naturally with p.m. mugitis where their ranges meet in SC.
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Looks like a northern pine to me. That orange/brown base color is a little unusual but not completely out of the realm of possibility. There’s definitely locales out there that have a more “muddy” look to them than the typical high contrast white on black we see a lot in the captive population. There’s even a line of “red” northerns originating from NJ localities.
IMO, northern pines are cooler than a pacific gopher so good find!
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Thank you very much for your feedback, it means a lot. So in the future it would be ok, to pair this one with another Northern Pine Snake?
I can’t make that call. If it were me, I would not breed the snake with out any lineage info available. I would only consider breeding it if I was able to track down verifiable info on the animal’s origins.
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Thank you, i totally understand. He will be a fine pet. 