The Copperhead is the most common venomous snake in the Southeast. The copperhead is one of the few venomous snakes that have adapted very well to urban life. They can be found even in big cities like Atlanta. It is not uncommon at all to find them in some people back yards which border a woodland forest. They reach lengths up to and over four feet and the maximum record is 53in. The copperhead mostly feed off small rodents, frogs, birds, lizards, and even large insects. The copperhead can be found in almost any terrestrial habitats including rocky outcrops which are mostly found in the mountains, the can be found near a creek or river, on the margins of swamp. The copperhead can most be easily be identified by the hourglass-shaped crossbands on the back of the snake. No other snakes found in Georgia have this pattern. The babies can easily be identified a sulfur-colored tail. During the spring and fall they are mostly found during the daylight hours. During the hot summer months the copperhead becomes almost strictly nocturnal (comes out at night). In my experience they are most active in the fall during the second of two mating seasons. When threaten they will puff up to make themselves look bigger, rattle their tail, and will release a strong musk from their cloacae.

The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in the largest and most dangerous venomous snake in the country. The Eastern Diamondback has been a recorded to be over 8 feet long. This snake has become scarcer in the past 20 years. The hunting for these snakes still goes out through the southeast. The rattlesnake roundup is when they go out and catch as many rattlesnakes as possible, and then they will chop their heads in the end. The snake is very secretive and on only a occasion does this snake will come across people in the southern counties of this state. This snake lives in several habitats including the longleaf pine/saw palmetto habitat, sandhill habitats, and coastal islands with comparable habitat. This snake can often be found near a gopher tortoise colony since they use the tortoise’s burrow for cover and hibernation. This snake is mostly crepuscular (comes out at dawn and dusk). The reason for this is that its favorite food source which is rabbits comes out at this time too. They will also eat squirrels, cotton rats, voles, and cotton mice. This snake needs the utmost respect if ever encountered in the wild. The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake has been known to have killed people, and if you encountered one you should treat it with the most utmost respect and leave it be.

The Timber/Canebrake Rattlesnake has the second largest distribution of any venomous snakes other than the copperhead. This rattlesnake is divided up to two subspecies which are the Timber and the Canebrake. The timber rattlesnake has a lot darker pattern without the orange stripe down the back. While the canebrake is a lot lighter with an orange to rust color stripe on its back. The two color patterns of the timber are the yellow phase and the black phase. The timber rattlesnake is found mostly in the mountains of the northern states in this country. This snake is smaller than its cousin while it mostly only reaching 4 feet while the canebrake can easily reach over 5 feet. The record on both snakes was 6 feet 2 inches. The timber rattlesnake is found mostly in rocky outcrops on tops of mountains also will live in hardwood forest. The canebrake mostly prefers the costal plains of this region and also will live in many different habitats including areas that border swamps, longleaf pine/saw palm habitat, rocky outcrops at the northern most part of its range, and hardwood forest.  Both subspecies mostly feed on small mammals such as shrews, mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and also will occasional feed on birds. Sadly the timber rattlesnake in the Northern states is considered threatened or endangered. Several states in the Northeast are now extinct of this wonderful snake. One big thing that leads to their decline is that most Timber rattlesnakes hibernate in huge dens with hundreds if not thousands of snakes. The snakes from both subspecies during spring and fall are Diurnal (comes out during the day) while during the hot months of summer they will become Nocturnal (comes out at night).