Timber Rattlesnake

Crotalus horridus

Distinguishing Characteristics

Photo: Trevor Persons

  • Large and heavy-bodied, approximately 36 to 52 inches in length
  • Wide, triangular head
  • Yellowish, gray, brown, or black above with darker blotches or bands
  • Underside plain yellowish, sometimes with dark flecking
  • Rattle on tail
  • Dorsal scales keeled (longitudinal raised ridge along midline of each scale)
  • Commonly confused with eastern milksnake

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Status and Distribution in Maine

  • Extirpated (native populations removed) from Maine
  • Formerly southern region only

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Habitat

Photo: Trevor Persons

  • Upland hardwood forest
  • Rocky, brushy south-facing hillsides

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Diet

  • Primarily eats small mammals such as mice and chipmunks

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Seasonal Changes

  • Hibernates communally deep within rocky south-facing hillsides

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Natural History Notes

  • Venomous
  • Heavily persecuted by early New England settlers, last seen in Maine ca. 1860
  • Live-bearing, females from northern populations only breed every 3–4 years

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