Gorgeous snake. It's a Canebrake Rattlesnake which is the Southern variant or phase of the Timber Rattlesnake.
Although mild in disposition and usually slow to anger they are venomous and definitely worthy of respect. Timbers and Canebrakes are beautiful snakes and among my favorites. They like to rest beneath and beside logs along scent trails of mice, rats and voles where they wait for rodents and despite their pretty colors they can blend in pretty well with the surrounding terrain.
Thanks, I never even heard of a canebrake rattlesnake. I did see pic.s of a timber and thought it would be him but didn't think they lived here in Ga. Looked up canebrake and looks just like him. Now being about 18 inches or so how old would you say he is? Don't know how fast they grow and the info said babies were born 10 to 16 inchs at birth in August it would seem that it would have to be a young snake from last year? I would have thought they would have grown faster. It was a thick snake. What would be the likelyhood that there a a lot more around? I have lived here 2 years now and never seen one before. Thanks for your help.
You're welcome. At 18 inches it probably is last year's young. Timber/Canebrake Rattlesnakes are indeed very thick bodied snakes. Very few young make it to adulthood so I wouldn't say there are a lot of that particular litter around but because it's a relatively young snake I would guess there has to be some kind of population in the area. Because snakes like to avoid people and because they have habits that cause them to spend most of their time under cover you could have a small but stable population in the area and only see a snake very rarely.
