Common Name: Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Scientific Name: Crotalus adamanteus

Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Crotalus
Species: Adamanteus

This snake is located in the Southeastern United States, west to Louisiana.

It resides in brush country, near the coast.

These rattlesnakes have a heavy gray body with numerous diamonds on back and a black and white banded tail. The tail ends in a rattle. The large and thick head has a light bordered dark stripe running diagonally through the eye and there are vertical light stripes on the snout. The scales are keeled. Maximum length is over eight feet, but average is four feet. Fangs are ¾ of an inch long.

Contrary to popular folklore, they are not particularly aggressive. As long as they are not disturbed, most will sit quietly amidst the vegetation and not even rattle. If threatened, they may rattle and prepare to strike. Given a chance, most will usually seek shelter in a nearby gopher tortoise burrow. The burrow also provides protection from winter cold temperatures. They can readily swim which explains their presence on many coastal islands. Their venom is prey specific—kills its habitual prey (cottontail rabbits) rapidly while larger quantities of venom are required for killing a rat even smaller than the rabbit.

They eat mostly rodents, birds, and other small prey organisms.

Up to 20 young, 12-14 inches, are born in late summer or early fall. The young are similar to adults in color pattern, but the tip of the tail of newborn diamondbacks ends in a “button”, which is the first segment of the future rattle. Their life span is 10-20 years.

This snake is extremely beneficial to man because it preys on rats, mice, rabbits, and other warm-blooded prey, many of which are considered pests. Nevertheless, the general public feels so threatened by the diamondback rattlesnake that most are killed on sight.

No information of note at this time.

Indiscriminate killing, combined with the widespread loss of rattlesnake habitat to agricultural development and urban sprawl and commercial hunting for rattlesnake skins, has caused a decline in most diamondback rattlesnake populations. Though not endangered, the species clearly is in trouble.

The Eastern Diamondback can strike up to two-thirds of its body length. For example, a 6-foot specimen may strike 4 feet. Some people wrongly believe the diamondback must rattle before striking. This is not true. It can lie silent and motionless, and then strike without the usual nervous buzz from its rattle. In fact, diamondbacks that rattle are more apt to be heard, seen, and killed. Diamondbacks that remain silent are more apt to go undiscovered and pass on their genes to the next generation. In this way, we inadvertently could be selecting for rattlers that do not rattle.

The Buffalo Zoo

As the third oldest zoo in the United States, the Buffalo Zoo houses some of the world's most exotic and endangered wildlife. In collaboration with the Center for Applied Technologies in Education, the Buffalo Zoo has provided these animal profiles to offer a glimpse into the diversity of the Zoo’s collection.