Eastern Diamondback Fact Sheet

The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is North America's largest venomous snake species. It is a potentially deadly snake with a potent hemotoxic venom. The venom destroys red blood cells and can cause extensive tissue damage. The snakes do not intend to bite humans and will warn them away with the loud rattle on their tails. Bites are the results of accidental or intentional close contact with the snakes on the human's part.

  1. Description

    • The eastern diamondback is a large, thick-bodied snake which grows to 5 1/2 feet in length and weighs around 5 lbs., on average. Some individuals grow larger to around 8 feet in length and up to 10 lbs. The snake ranges from olive to dark brown in body color with darker diamond shaped patterns running the length of its back. It has a large rattle on its tail which is added to with each skin molt. The snake's eyes are cat-like, a common indicator of a venomous species.

    Habitat and Range

    • The snake's home range is relatively small, including most of Florida. It ranges as far north as southern North Carolina and west to eastern Louisiana. It lives mainly in dry grassland and woodland habitats away from or just on the outskirts of wetland habitats. The snakes use shrubs and foliage as cover. It can swim and is known to be found in salt water, traveling between the Florida Keys.

    Diet and Predators

    • The eastern diamondback employs ambush to catch its prey, waiting for an animal to wander too close as it sits coiled in the underbrush. It lunges forward in a biting strike that reaches up to two-thirds of its body length, sinking its fangs into its prey and injecting the venom. It then lets the animal run off to die, tracking it by scent. Doing this protects the snake from a struggling animal that may do it harm. A full-sized diamondback has no natural predators, except humans, who may hunt it for meat or out of fear. Young snakes do fall prey to foxes, hawks, hogs and other snakes.

    Life Cycle

    • The snakes are most active at dusk and dawn and live a solitary lifestyle out of the breeding season. Mating takes place in late summer to fall, with male snakes competing to find females with which to breed. The females are pregnant for around six to seven months and hatch the offspring internally, giving birth to live young. It gives birth to between 6 to 21 young snakes which are already 15 inches long and able to deliver a deadly bite. In the wild, eastern diamondbacks live for 10-20 years.