White-sided Gopher Snake

[Gary N]

I was sent these cell phone pictures of a white-sided gopher snake that was found in San Bernardino County, California. The only snakes like it I have found online so far are white-sided bull snakes that seem to be a pet trade breed, but I don't know how the morph is bred or if it occurs in nature.

Does anybody have any ideas on the pigmentation of this snake?
(How is the white-sided morph created?)
Could it be natural or is it more likely human bred?

[TravisK]

Either way, it's a handsome snake!

[chrish]

Very cool. It looks like the "white-sided" morphs of all the captive specimens I have seen.

I don't know the genetics of white-sided snakes, but appears the same in all the colubrids. Must be a relatively simple genetic trait. The original white-sided morphs were wild caught, I believe, so why not this one?

[hellihooks]

I found a dor wht-sided off the 210 in N Fontana few years back... and heard tell of a wht-sided GB found on the 18 tween AV and Lucerne, by Fangmaster, I believe...

[Gary N]

I found a dor wht-sided off the 210 in N Fontana few years back... and heard tell of a wht-sided GB found on the 18 tween AV and Lucerne, by Fangmaster, I believe...

This was also near Fontana. Sounds like a naturally-occuring morph. Thanks.