Timber rattlesnake
Author: Anders Nielsen | Ctrl-D saves this page
Timber rattlesnakes Crotalus horridus are found in the Eastern USA. They are the most prominent from from southern Minnesota to Texas, as well as all the states in between and those states east of Texas and Minnesota. Prior to a bite they will usually rattle and faint for a time, giving the victim time to try and avoid getting bitten by these venemous snakes.
Its venom is quite toxic compared to other rattlesnake species. Timber rattlesnakes have a relatively low tolerance for human disturbances1 and they will migrate to somewhere else if people continously disturbing them at their basking spots and near their dens.
The timber Rattlesnake is often confused with the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Timber rattlesnake prey
In a study from 19492 it was found that the only type of prey found in 19 timber rattlesnake specimens from Mountain Lake in Virginia, were mammals. In this small population most mammals mice, which suggests that mice are abundant in the area studied.
Size and appearance
Male timber rattlesnakes are larger than females. This holds true for adult snakes and newborn timber rattlesnakes3. Adult individuals can reach a length of 5 feet (1½ meter). With respect to color they fall into two groups - black background color and yellow background color.
References
1. Furman, J. Timber rattlesnakes in Vermont and New York: biology, history, and the fate of an endangered species (2007)
2. Smyth, T. Notes on the Timber Rattlesnake at Mountain Lake, Virginia Copeia 1 pp. 78 (1949)
3. Stewart, M.M, Larson, Gary E. (!) & Matthews T.H. Morphological Variation in a Litter of Timber Rattlesnakes Copeia 4 pp. 66-67 (1960)