Pygmy Rattlesnake

Quick Identification

• 1-3 rows of dark spots down back
• Grayish background color
• Dark mask through eye
• Tiny rattle

The average length is 18 to 20 inches. Dark spots run down the back of the snake, with one or two alternating rows down each side. Overall, the snake may be quite dark, especially in specimens from the southern counties. Pygmy rattlers have nine large symmetrically arranged scales on the crown of the head. (Our other larger rattlers have tiny, randomly arranged scales on top of the head). Rattles on the tail are tiny in size. Often the rattle is temporarily missing but grows back with subsequent moltings.

The most commonly heard name for this snake in Mississippi is “ground rattler.” Unfortunately, this is also the name given to the several small gray or brown harmless snakes found in yards and gardens throughout the South (genera Virginia, Storeria, and Rhadinaea). While popular consensus is that the pygmy rattlesnakes do not possess rattles and are therefore silent, the opposite is actually true. They do indeed have functional rattles. The appendage is small and easily broken off and regained repeatedly throughout the life of the snake.

Pygmy rattlesnakes range over most of Mississippi although records are lacking from the Delta. Distribution is spotty with the species being most common on the Gulf Coast and again in northeastern Mississippi. They prefer flatwoods, both pine and hardwood forests, and the environs of swamps. Food consists of small snakes, lizards, frogs, and mice.

Bites on humans are fairly common in the southern counties. Although this species produces a highly toxic venom, the small size of the snake reduces the risk of a fatal bite. While no person has yet died of a pygmy rattlesnake bite, many serious bites and “close-calls” have been recorded.