All pocket gophers create a network of tunnel systems that provide protection and a means of collecting food. Pinkies are tiny mice that were killed before they grew hair. Unsurprisingly, they also eat gophers, which is where they got their name. Common predators of the gopher include weasels, snakes, and hawks. These animals eat both foods below the surface of the earth, such as potatoes and carrots, and those above the earth's surface, such as peas and cabbage. The snake routinely eats other small mammals , such as rabbits , kangaroo rats , voles , rats , mice and ground squirrels . Gophers also eat some earthworms and soft insects. Behavior. What do gopher snakes like to eat? The Great Basin gopher snake is a beautiful specimen. Members of the Colubridae Family, the common, large, gopher snake is usually between 36 and 96 inches long.Gopher snakes range in color from cream-yellow to green-gray to tan, with large black, brown or reddish blotches on their back and smaller ones along their sides. These are this snake's favorite meal, but if a gopher snake can't find a gopher, there are plenty of other things he can eat. What Do Gopher Snakes Eat? Gopher snakes can be fed small rodents. Before attempting to control or remove gophers, it is important to answer the question, what do gophers eat? Great Basin gopher snake care. These are this snake's favorite meal, but if a gopher snake can't find a gopher, there are plenty of other things he can eat. You can start by feeding gopher snakes pinkies and larger rodents as they grow. There are six different subspecies across the gopher snake’s range: the Sonoran gopher, the San Diego gopher, the Pacific gopher, the Great Basin gopher, the Santa Cruz gopher, and the bullsnake. They are entirely harmless, but like many nonvenomous snakes, people sometimes misidentify them as other species. These can be frozen and thawed. Gophers feed primarily on plant matter, including grasses, trees, roots and seeds. That’s their diet in the wild. Gopher Snakes Genus Pituophis. Intelligent and alert, they’re hardy and fairly easy to keep although I wouldn’t place them in the same category as the corn snake for first-time snake keepers.. This is only because gopher snakes and their close relatives, the bull and pine snakes, are more flighty. In short, these rodent pests tend to eat any and all types of plants—be it grasses, trees, shrubs, bulbs, roots, seeds, or tubers. The snake routinely eats other small mammals, such as rabbits, kangaroo rats, voles, rats, mice and ground squirrels. Pocket gophers have often been found to carry external parasites. Gophers also eat vegetables that grow beneath the surface. Gopher snakes are nonvenomous reptiles native to the western United States.