Timber Rattlesnake

Timber Rattlesnake Facts, Identification, & Control

Latin Name

Crotalus horridus

Appearance

Timber rattlesnake is the only rattle snake found in the northeastern part of the United States and its main location ranges from central Texas to the East coast and also in the northern region such as New Hampshire, Vermont, Wisconsin and Minnesota. This snake is venomous and should be left alone. The timber rattlesnake has a small neck and triangular shape of head which is similar to other pit vipers. This snake possesses thick body and can grow as long as 6 feet however, the males are mostly five feet long with a body weight of 2-3 pounds. The snake has a rough appearance due to their keeled scales. Basically, the timber rattlesnake is brown or gray in color although the color sometimes varies and it has a zigzag pattern of black or brown running across the entire length of the body. In addition, most times the skin also has a rust or reddish-brown line running from the spine to the end of rattle found at the tail region.

Behavior, Diet & Habits

The geographical region of the rattlesnakes determines its habitat. They are often found along rocky hills of areas full of woods in the northeast of the United States. While in the southeast of the United States, they are often found in mountains and rocky edges of swamp or river floodplain located in hardwood and deciduous forest. They rarely habit urban or populated places. The snake regulates it temperature with the use of rocks ledges. It either crawls into rock crevices to cool down its temperature or exposes itself to the sun to increase it temperature. The rattle snake is more active during the day and hunts for its prey in the evening time. The snake can coil up in at a particular place in wait of its prey which is more of small animals and sometimes lizards, reptiles and birds.

The rattle snake takes shelter in crevices of rocks or dens during winter; it goes into hibernation along with other snakes present such as the copperhead and resumes activity in spring time. Once the hibernation time is over it goes in search of a mate partner to reproduce. The female gives birth in late summer and early fall to an average of 6-10 live snakes.

More Information

They are known for how dangerous their venom is hence the best way to avoid been bitten by rattlesnake is to stay away from them. It is not as aggressive as other venomous snake and will always give signs before attack. The snake would shake its tail as a warning sign to the predator before attacking. The snake goes ahead to attack if the predator does not heed to the warning sign it displayed, it sinks its teeth into the victim and release venom into the body.

Ensure you home is free of any snake prey so they don’t get attracted to your house if you really do not want them to come around. Always trim your landscape and never allow it over grow. To make your home less attractive to pest, ensure the landscape doesn’t touch the structure and the amount of debris surrounding the structure it minimal.