Facts About North Carolina Timber Rattlesnakes

The timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is a venomous species that has a range throughout much of the eastern United States. The timber rattlesnake exists in North Carolina, where the color variations between species found in diverse locations made people believe that the snake was actually two different species. The timber rattlesnake has an undeserved reputation as an aggressive reptile, which has resulted in the snake disappearing from much of its original territories, as people killed them out of fear.

Identification

The timber rattlesnake has a heavy and stout body. The snake can be as long as 6 feet, although most specimens are typically shorter--about 3 feet in length. Timber rattlesnakes have broad heads, a trait shared by most other snakes with heat-sensitive organs on the face, called pit vipers, and the pupils of the eyes are elliptical. The trademark rattle of all rattlesnake species, including the timber rattler, consists of a substance known as keratin. The segments comprising the rattle can break away, but each time the timber rattler sheds its skin, another segment augments the tail.

Geography

In North Carolina, most of the timber rattlesnakes live in one of two geographic regions. Timber rattlers reside in the higher elevations of the forested mountains found in the state, especially in the western half of North Carolina. The snake also lives on the coastal plains. At one time, timber rattlesnakes also existed in large numbers in the foothills in the central part of the state called the Piedmont. However, loss of habitat to both farming and development of the land for housing has caused a huge decline in the snake’s population in this area.

Colors

The timber rattler usually possesses a light colored body that features darker cross bands called chevrons, states the Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina website. Those rattlers found in the coastal plains and Piedmont normally are a pink-tan shade with darker brown and black cross bands. These timber rattlers, nicknamed canebreaks, have an orange or brown stripe down the center of the back. The mountain rattlers located in the western part of North Carolina come in two color variations. One is yellowish to tan with darker brown to black bands. The other is a nearly all-black version, with some areas lighter than others.

Habitat

The Western North Carolina Nature Center website states that timber rattlesnakes will change their habitat, dictated by what time of the year it is. In the warmer spring and summer months, the snake will tend to be in woodlands, in fields that are close to forests and on the rock-strewn hillsides. In the winter, the snake will hibernate in rocky crevices that are below the frost line in a state of dormancy. Before the cold weather sets in, the snakes will sun themselves on the rocks in the day before retreating into the rocks when the night brings cooler temperatures.

Diet

This snake hunts mostly at night, honing in on its prey with its heat-seeking pits and delivering a fatal bite to whatever small prey it can find. The venom is toxic enough to kill humans in rare instances, but the snake would much rather avoid confrontation with people and will strike only as a last resort. Squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rats and birds form the bulk of a timber rattlesnake's diet. The snake swallows the animal headfirst and whole and often does not have to eat again for weeks.

References

• Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina: Timber Rattlensnake
• Western North Carolina Nature Center: Timber Rattlesnake
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservations: Timber Rattlesnake Fact Sheet