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Timber rattlesnake

Crotalus horridus · Snakes · Reptiles

Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus): Horny rattle on the tail tip; broad head and vertical pupil in bright light. Heat-sensing pit on each side of the face between eye and nostril. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Timber rattlesnake coiled under low foliage
Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash
Scientific name
Crotalus horridus
Family
Viperidae
In North America
Native
Range
Central New England to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas, central Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, southeastern Nebraska, Iowa and southeastern Minnesota; spotty at the western and northern edges. NatureServe ranks it NX (presumed extirpated) in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Horny rattle on the tail tip; broad head and vertical pupil in bright light. [1][2]

Heat-sensing pit on each side of the face between eye and nostril. [1][2]

Almost always dark crossbands on a yellow, black or gray background, sometimes a reddish mid-back stripe. [1][2]

Heavy-bodied with keeled scales and a coarse, dull skin; usually under 150 cm. [1][2]

Compared with the milk snake: Slender with smooth glossy skin, no rattle and no facial pit. [1][2]

Compared with the northern water snake: Lacks the rattle and the facial pit. [1][2]

Compared with the eastern hognose snake: Lacks the rattle and the facial pit. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a timber rattlesnake before you act. Compared with the milk snake: Slender with smooth glossy skin, no rattle and no facial pit.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Northeast: hilly forest with rocky outcrops and ledges; Midwest: rocky bluffs; South: hardwood forest, river bottoms and swampy areas. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Emerges from dens about mid-April to May and returns about mid-September to October [1][2]

Northern and upland snakes hibernate communally; males typically stay within 3.6 km of the den [1][2]

Eats mainly small mammals; lizards in the south [1][2]

Ambushes prey along fallen logs [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Central New England to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas, central Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, southeastern Nebraska, Iowa and southeastern Minnesota; spotty at the western and northern edges. NatureServe ranks it NX (presumed extirpated) in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology