Timber Rattlesnake

Crotalus horridus

Distinguishing Characteristics

• 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

• 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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