--- title: "Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "The big eastern pit viper that senses heat, waits in ambush and rattles a warning first." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/timber-rattlesnake-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-11" --- # Timber Rattlesnake (*Crotalus horridus*) > **Status**: Checked against 6 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: The big eastern pit viper that senses heat, waits in ambush and rattles a warning first. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Cuban Son & Trova // Buena Vista Social Club, "El Cuarto de Tula" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/5UjaOsrdoI4shw9gM2eNPC) > **Vibe Match**: A timber rattlesnake's rattle is a string of loose keratin segments that knock together into a rapid, crisp buzz. Maracas work the same way, hard seeds rattling inside a shell, and on Buena Vista Social Club's El Cuarto de Tula their shake runs under the whole song. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Crotalus horridus* - **Danger Level**: Deadly - **Conservation Status**: Least Concern ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2007.rlts.t64318a12765920.en)) - **Superpower**: Heat-sensing pits between nostril and eye that detect very slight changes in temperature - **Habitat**: Forested hills, swamps and river floodplains across the eastern United States - **Diet**: Mice, shrews, chipmunks and squirrels, plus birds, lizards and amphibians - **Tags**: reptile, venomous, forest, ambush-predator, infrared-vision, carnivore ## Natural History & Behavior ## A snake that senses heat The timber rattlesnake is a large, heavy-bodied pit viper that hunts by waiting. It sits in the brush, waits for prey to pass, then strikes, bites and injects venom. Its meals are mainly small to medium rodents like mice, shrews, chipmunks and squirrels, with birds, lizards and amphibians as extras. It swallows its prey whole once the venom has killed it. > **Heat sensor** > Timber rattlers are pit vipers, with heat-sensitive pit organs between the nostrils and the eyes that can tell very slight changes in temperature apart. ## How big, how heavy, how old Adults typically reach 2.5 to 5 feet (0.76 to 1.5 meters), and there are reports of snakes up to 7 feet (2 meters). In New York, where the record is 60 inches, it is the largest venomous snake. AnAge lists an average adult weight of 1,000 grams, about a kilogram. Juvenile deaths run very high, but New York's DEC says an adult's average lifespan may be 15 to 20 years, and some wild snakes have been recorded past 50. AnAge's maximum longevity figure is 30.2 years, for a snake in captivity. ## A warning first, then venom The rattle is made of loosely attached keratin segments, the same substance as human hair and fingernails. A young snake has just one button, and a new segment is added each time the snake sheds its skin. Segments also break off, and a full rattle is rarely seen. When threatened, the snake props itself up and shakes the rattle, and the segments press together with a rapid, crisp sound. That sound is a warning before a strike. The National Zoo calls it more docile than other members of its family, and likelier to stay motionless when found. The venom itself varies. Some rattlesnake venoms have shifted exceptionally fast. Timber rattlesnake venom generally causes bleeding (it is hemorrhagic), but populations along the southern edge of the range carry highly lethal, neurotoxic venom instead. A 2013 study of one snake from northern Florida found its venom glands made almost none of the two major classes of bleeding toxins. ## From Kansas to Florida, and gone from Canada Timber rattlesnakes range across the eastern half of the United States, from eastern Kansas and Texas to Georgia, the Carolinas and New England, and from New York to northern Florida. They hibernate in crevices on or just under the ground, and in some places they gather in dens under rocks. The IUCN rated the species Least Concern in 2007, but the National Zoo reports that New Jersey saw a 50 to 66 percent population decline, and that the species is regionally extinct in Canada. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How long do timber rattlesnakes live? Many die young. New York's environment department says a snake that survives to maturity may live 15 to 20 years on average, and that some wild ones are known to have lived beyond 50 years. *(Source: [New York State Department of Environmental Conservation]())* ### How big does a timber rattlesnake get? Adults typically measure between 2.5 and 5 feet long (0.76 to 1.5 meters), according to the National Zoo, though some have been reported at up to 7 feet (2 meters). *(Source: [Smithsonian's National Zoo]())* ### Why does a rattlesnake rattle? To warn. A timber rattlesnake that feels threatened raises its body and shakes its tail, knocking the keratin buttons of the rattle into each other. The National Zoo describes the sound as a warning before the snake strikes. *(Source: [Smithsonian's National Zoo]())* ## Sources 1. [Timber rattlesnake. Smithsonian's National Zoo.]() 2. [Crotalus horridus. Animal Diversity Web.]() 3. [AnAge entry for Crotalus horridus. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge.]() 4. [Timber Rattlesnake. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.]() 5. [Rokyta, Wray & Margres (2013). The genesis of an exceptionally lethal venom in the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) revealed through comparative venom-gland transcriptomics. BMC Genomics.]() 6. [Hammerson (2007). Crotalus horridus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007: e.T64318A12765920.]() *Published October 11, 2026. 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