Your littlesnake looks just like the Gopher Snakes I see here in California. Does it have any orange color on it? The gophers here have some orange on them as well as the stripe that runs through the eye. I also see nothing wrong with keeping it, as once you learn the true species, you may want to acquire a mate and breed them. It would be a nice way to get some new genetics into some captive bred specimens.( If your local laws allow for it)