Are Gopher Snakes Poisonous? Tips To Treat Its Bite

Are Gopher snakes poisonous? 

Gopher Snakes are neither poisonous nor venomous. They do not have poisonous Venom because of its Venom gland’s absence. They are not very aggressive toward humans as well. However, they can bite if they feel threatened by humans. Gopher snakes’ bites are enough to severely hurt humans as well as other pets.

Gopher snakes are one of the best options for first-time snake owners because most of the time, it has been seen that they are not harmful to humans as well as other pets. 


They only attack once they feel threatened by someone like humans or dogs. However, it is less likely to experience any kind of quick Strike of a bite from them.

They only pray on small rodents and are known for striking and squeezing their prey until it dies. Yet they don’t have have any kind of venom glands present in the body, the only option to kill their prey for them to feed its hunger is by squeezing them and immobilizing them.

However, a non-venomous/non-poisonous snakes’ bites can also cause infections and dozens of allergies to human. That is why it is very important to know the symptoms and the remedies that you should take as soon as you get a bite from them so that you can prevent any kind of infection or allergies from being aggressively spread.

In this guide, I am going to give you all the information that you need to know about Gopher snakes as non-poisonous snakes. Along with that,  I am also going to give you some tips that can lessen the possibility of the bite from non-venomous snake venomous snake-like gopher snakes. 


In this guide, I am going to give you some space of Information about the signs and symptoms of copper snakes bits and also a brief idea on how the bite should be treated.

 

Other Snakes ? That Makes Good Pet (Click to know if they are venomous or not)

White Snakes	Northern Water Snakes	Hognose Snakes
Black Racer Snakes	Grass Snakes	Black Rat Snakes
Rattlesnakes	Bull Snakes	Eastern Hognose Snakes
Green Snakes	Ringneck Snakes	Kingsnakes

Gopher Snakes Bite Signs And Symptoms

There are lots of signs and symptoms that you can experience from a Gopher snakes bite. The most common signs and symptoms are

• Blurred vision
• Excessive sweating
• Two puncture wounds
• Numbness in the face
• Vomiting and nausea
• Excessive saliva
• Pain at the bite site and around it
• Redness around the wounds
• Excessive swelling and itching around the bite area.
  
  

These symptoms are the most common signs from a snake bite. But, there are still some questions remain that need to be answered like how to tell if the bite is really from a non-venomous snake? How you can treat Gopher Snakebite? What disease or allergies you are likely to experience from the bite? And the last and most important one how you can avoid Gopher snakes bite? So, let’s begin with the first one how to identify if the bite is really from a non-venomous venomous snake?

How To Identify If The Bite Is From Gopher Snakes Or Not?

I told you, Gopher snakes are non-venomous snakes and they do not have Venom glands. Adding to that, a non-venomous snake also doesn’t possess fangs like venomous snakes. 



Non-poisonous snakes have teeth instead of fangs. You cannot notice in your Gopher snakes that they have teeth instead of fangs.

But this doesn’t mean, that they are harmless. Gopher snakes teeth can be very sharp enough to cause you disease and allergy. Once you get bitten from non-poisonous snakes like Gopher snakes you will have a mark of sharp teeth which will be about a dozen small.

It is very good to get bitten from sharp teeth as it gets easier to clean the wound which means recovery will be much quicker than the bites from the biggest snake with thick sharp teeth. Always remember, it’s better to get a cut from a sharp knife than a dull knife. 


As soon as you get a bite from Gopher snakes, you will notice mark in your skin and you are also going to bleed some blood as well. But, Gopher snakes teeth tend to be very small and it will be less likely to bleed blood. By which, we mean that you are more likely to experience minor bleeding.

But, this doesn’t mean that that you are not going to carry any disease from them. Even you brush your copper snakes teeth consistently and regularly, this doesn’t mean that your snake’s mouth is going to be fully disease-free. They will always have the potential to carry a few diseases in their mouth.

So, it is very important to monitor your bite site area and always visit for health checkups up to a week after the initiation of a snakebite so that you can be rest assured that you are not carrying any kind of disease and have not contacted any allergies as well.

However, it is less likely to experience any kind of contraction of disease from Gopher snakes bite but still, it is always recommended to be on the safe side. The possibility of a disease getting triggered is rare and unlikely.

How To Treat A Gopher Snakebite?

If your Gopher snake isn’t leaving you or letting go of the bite area which is very common because most of the snakes tend to lock their Jaws, then you must put its head towards the wound before pulling the gopher snake away so that its curved and sharp teeth inflict less damage.

If the wound is big and you are bleeding heavily then you may need some stitches and for that, you will have to visit your nearby hospital or health clinic.


However, if the wound of the Gopher snakes bite is small and you are not bleeding much blood then you can treat it yourself because you don’t need stitches, especially for a small wound like that. 


Generally, Gopher Snakebite bite is going to live small wound – if the wound is big then maybe somehow it’s your fault like you have pulled your snake away in the wrong method or in the wrong direction and the curved teeth damaged your bite area.


However, let’s move and learn how you can treat a small wound of gopher snakes?

Just by the following is 5 steps, you can treat any kind of small bite wound of non-venomous Snakebite.

1. As soon as you get a bite from a gopher snake, you must rinse off the wound and its surrounding area with fresh and clean water. Never use any kind of soap or hand wash, just fresh and clean water is enough.
   
   
2. As soon as you are done with rinsing your wound, you need to apply mild antibacterial soap to clean the wound. Don’t use any kind of soap/product that contains hydrogen peroxide as it can damage all the essential and healthy tissues that is needed to heal the wound quickly. Along with that, you must avoid using a cleanser that contains alcohol as it can irritate the bite area.
   
   
3. Now, after you are done with cleaning the wood, you need to dry the wound and its surrounding area with soft dry cloth or cotton or towel. Remember to dry the wound area by bloating it with the soft cloth or cotton. Avoud using any kind of friction over the area to dry the wound. Use soft cloth not the rough one. And don’t use friction as it can cause more damage to your skin and also it can rip & irritate bite area skin more.
   
   
4. Now, you may think that using a bandage after drying the wound is a safe and healthy thing to do but we would recommend you not use any kind of bandage on the wood unless you feel there is a risk of cross-contamination. When you bandage a wound it makes the area look black, Warm, moist, and dark Which is Perfect for bacteria to breed.
   
   
5. You don’t need to use any kind of bandage Unless you feel that you have been bitten by a Venomous and poisonous snake. If you feel that the wound is becoming infected then you must forget everything that has been shared  and get yourself to a medical professional immediately
   
   
   

There is a long list of symptoms of Gopher snakes bite and we can provide you an endless array of tips on how to identify this kind of symptoms. But those tips and tricks are not going to do to much help for a bite victim if they don’t know how to treat the wound of a gopher Snakebite.

 

The steps that I have mentioned above is actually very simple and relatively very straight forward and anybody can treat their wound of snake bite by following those steps. 


However, there are some myths that we hear about how to treat snake bites. Let’s know common misconceptions and myths about treating copper snakes bite.

Other Snakes ? That Makes Good Pet (Click to know if they are venomous or not)

White Snakes	Northern Water Snakes	Hognose Snakes
Black Racer Snakes	Grass Snakes	Black Rat Snakes
Rattlesnakes	Bull Snakes	Eastern Hognose Snakes
Green Snakes	Ringneck Snakes	Kingsnakes

Common Myths About Treating Snakes Bite

There are lots of myths that we hear and we believe that they are true but it’s not. It doesn’t matter if the bite is from a non-venomous snake or venomous Snake, both can be dangerous if you follow these myths about treating snake bites.

There lots of things that you must avoid doing so that the venom doesn’t spread aggressively before the help comes. Always make sure to avoid these 7 things as they are complete myths and should be stopped practicing and avoid advising anybody.

• You should never suck the venom out by using your mouth as the venom can cause diseases and it can also be life-threatening. You may have heard that heroes and heroines suck the Venom out by using their mouths in the movies and it’s cool because they love each other but it’s not as by doing this kind of practice or attempt you can both threaten your life.
  
  

• Never use any kind of pump suction device. Even they are meant to be used for pumping out the snake venom, most of the time it has been seen that it causes more harm than good. It is also believed that these pump suction devices can rip the skin area and allow the bacteria / Venom to spread more aggressively.
  
  

• Avoid using any kind of cold compression on the bite and its surrounding area.
  
  

• Never cut into the snake bite. If you cut into the snake bite, you will allow those Venom to speed more quickly and the bleeding would be much more severe then expected.
  

• Avoid using any kind of tourniquet.
  

• Don’t take any kind of medication before Consulting a doctor. Plus, you should also never give up the victim any medications unless recommended & directed by the doctor.
  

• Avoid using any kind of muscle activity after getting a bite from a snake. Plus, you should also avoid raising the bite area as it can increase the victim’s heart rate. If the heart rate increases, the blood is going to run much faster in his veins than expected, allowing the Venom would spread much quicker which I hope nobody wants. Stay still until the medical help reaches.
  
  

What to do if you get a bite from a venomous snake instead of the non-venomous snake?

Even you live with a non-poisonous Gopher snake, you should be prepared for a situation in which anyone can be a victim of a venomous snake. Being prepared for this kind of situation is going to do only good for you, your family and for your neighbors for sure.

• As soon as everybody gets a bite from a venomous snake, get him out of the snakes’ territory and away from the danger area.
  
  
• After that, contact medical support like an ambulance.
  
  
• If a situation comes across in which an ambulance is not available then get a mode of transport to a medical facility as soon as possible.
  
  
• Keep the victim still and avoid moving the bitten area too much.
  
  
• Don’t panic or act rashly, keep a level head.
  
  
• In the vicinity of the poisonous snake bite, you should remove all the Jewelleries and keep as little as clothing as possible.
  
  
• Remember to breathe evenly and to get the medical attention immediately.
  
  

How To Prevent A Gopher Snakebite?

Snakes like Gopher snakes are very easy to handle and it is also very easy to avoid their bites. Non-poisonous snake, specially Gopher snakes never look for the human to bite. However, they have the potential to bite humans if they feel threatened.

There are some tips that you can follow to avoid a snake bite but if you really want to be very cautious about it and avoid this kind of situation then you must look into avoiding snake territory and also irritating your non-venomous snakes. Here are the tips:

• Avoid handling your snake too much as it can irritate them and make them bite you.
  
  
• Always make sure that you check before you stick your hand into a crevice.
  
  
• Whenever you came up in a situation when you need to enter a snake Territory or you need to handle your cloth, make sure you wear protective clothing like boots, leather gloves, and long pants.
  
  
• If you are traveling, then you should out at night in areas where snakes frequently attack the visitors according to locals or friends. At night, snakes tend to be more nocturnal.
  
  
• Don’t approach a snake if you see one outside and also never disturb your pet snake when they are feeding their stomach.
  
  
• Always remember to keep your pet snake fully protected and secured as most snakes can climb.
  
  
• You must keep your backyard grass short as you need to avoid piles of leaves, rocks, woods, and tall grasses around your house to keep yourself and your family safe from the Venomous Snakebite.
  
  

Snake Mites

If your snakes have the mites, then it is very important to treat them because this snake mites can cause disease to its owner and surrounding people as well. You can get infected from a snake mite.


If you don’t know what is a snake mite and how you can treat a snake mite then read this article on how to treat snake mites. In this article, I have shared three ways on how you can treat your snake mites.

 

The FAQ (Frequent Asked Question)