Pigmy Rattlesnake
Sistrurus miliarius • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Sistrurus, Species: Sistrurus miliarius
Southeastern United States, ranging from eastern North Carolina south through Florida and west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma.
Look up Pigmy Rattlesnake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Viperidae, Subfamily: Crotalinae, Genus: Sistrurus, Species: Sistrurus miliarius
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Populations face localized threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing.
Physical Description
Grayish or brownish body with a pattern of dark rounded dorsal blotches, often with a reddish-brown vertebral stripe. It possesses a very small rattle on the tail tip, keeled scales, and a distinct triangular head.
Size & Dimensions
The pictured specimen appears to be a juvenile, roughly 8 to 10 inches long. Adults typically range from 14 to 24 inches (38 to 64 cm), with a maximum recorded length of around 31 inches.
Habitat
Found in flatwoods, sandhills, mixed forests, floodplains, and around the edges of lakes and marshes. They utilize palmetto thickets, tall grass, and stump holes as microhabitats.
Diet & Feeding
Diet consists primarily of small mammals, lizards, frogs, and occasionally other snakes. They employ an active foraging and ambush strategy, often using a caudal (tail) luring technique with their yellowish tail tip to attract prey.
Reproduction
Ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young. Females typically produce litters of 3 to 15 young in late summer or early autumn.
Look-alikes
Can be confused with other small colubrid snakes found in the same region, such as young rat snakes or water snakes, but is distinguished by the presence of a rattle, facial pits, and a broad head.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Populations face localized threats from habitat fragmentation, road mortality, and intentional killing.
Cultural Significance
Plays a role in local ecosystems by helping control rodent and amphibian populations, though encounters with humans often lead to negative outcomes due to fear.
Notable Features
Features a remarkably small rattle that produces a sound resembling buzzing insects rather than a traditional rattle sound, and exhibits caudal luring behavior as juveniles.