Natural History of the Timber Rattlesnake

Over the past summer, I did research on contaminated sediment of a coastal flood plain found on the Savannah River Site. For my research, I had to go out in June and July and take sediment samples from beaver ponds and its contributing streams to find the source of contamination. While taking samples, I encountered many amphibians and reptiles, but the one that stood out most to me was coming across a timber rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus. At the time of my research, a snake was a snake to me, whether venomous or nonvenomous, and I wanted to stay as far away from them as I could. However, after I encountered a wide variety of species I began to appreciate all snakes and the roles they play. Since I was not very fond of snakes at the time of my encounter and I knew it was a venomous snake, I did not want to get too close to it, which is explains the poor quality of my pictures that resulted from me zooming in as much as I could to get a picture. Since I did not examine the snake, it is difficult to determine the sex, but due to its small body size (~50 cm) and lack of prominent rattles, it can be concluded that the snake was most likely a juvenile. The diet of these snakes consist mostly of small rodents when they are young and as they get larger so do their prey, which primarily consists of squirrels and rabbits. One of the key factors that sparked my respect for these snakes was how it acted in its natural habitat. It was coiled up near a stream in a warm, but shaded area. Even as I approached the snake to move to my sample site, it remained in its coil. I was expecting it to make advances, but only moved when we bumped it with a stick so we could sample in that spot without worry. Even when we did bump it, it did not strike nor become aggressive, but simply slithered away to an area where we both would not bother each other. It was no surprise that I came upon a timber rattlesnake while sampling because they are found in many parts of the United States, especially the southeastern part of the U.S. with the exception of most of Florida. Adults can range anywhere between 76-152 cm, and have been known to reach 183 cm, which is over 6 ft. Lucky for me, mine was fairly small with respects to its potential size. Timber rattlesnakes can be found in areas from swampland and floodplains to pine forests and mountainous habitats. These viviparous creatures typically give birth in the late summer/early fall, and since I encountered this one in June, I can further tell that the snake was most likely not a newborn. These snakes are known to be docile and remain coiled when approached in the wild, unless threatened, and the one I observed was just that. After seeing this snake and learning more about it, I am excited to get back in the field and hopefully come across a few more!

Sources:

Taylor, Rebecca. University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Herpetolgoy Program.     Canebrake/Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). http://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/crohor.htm