Timber Rattlesnake
(Crotalus
horridus) |
 |
DESCRIPTION: 35-74 1/2" (88.9-189.2
cm). Northern forms range from yellow through brown or gray to
black, with dark back and side blotches on front of body and
blotches fused to form crossbands on rear of body. Head
unmarked. Southern forms yellowish-, brownish- or pinkish-gray,
with tan or reddish-brown back stripe dividing chevronlike
crossbands; dark stripe behind eye. Both forms have black tail.
Scales keeled, in 23-25 rows.
Warning! Rattlesnakes,
Copperheads, and Cottonmouths belong to a group of snakes known
as pit vipers. These dangerous snakes have a heat-sensitive
sensory organ on each side of the head that enables them to
locate warm-blooded prey and strike accurately, even in the
dark. The curved, hollow fangs are normally folded back along
the jaw. When a pit viper strikes, the fangs rapidly swing
forward and fill with venom as the mouth opens. The venom is a
complex mixture of proteins that acts primarily on a victim's
blood tissue. If you hear a rattlesnake shaking its rattle, back
away. The snake is issuing a warning, and if the warning is
ignored it may bite. There are many factors (temperature being
the most important) that determine how a snake will react when
confronted by a human. Venomous snakes should always be observed
from a safe distance. Pit vipers are never safe to handle. Even
dead ones can retain some neurological reflexes, and "road
kills" have been known to bite.
STATUS:
RANGE: This species occurs at elevations up
to 6000 feet, and sometimes higher, in the Blue Ridge, in the
far western mountains, and in the western Piedmont.
HABITAT: It inhabits upland hardwood
and mixed pine-hardwood forests, in areas where there are sunny,
rocky slopes and ledges. This snake needs places to hibernate
that allow it to stay below the frost line, such as large cracks
in rocky outcroppings.
SPECIAL HABITAT:
FOOD: The timber rattlesnake preys mostly
on small mammals, but will also eat some frogs and birds. |
