8 Rattlesnakes Of Texas And how To Spot Them

Timber Rattlesnake

Thick-bodied with an average length of 4.5 feet, typically brown or tan with dark crossbands, found in the eastern part of Texas, particularly wooded wetlands.

Mottled Rock Rattlesnake

Smaller with an average length of about 2 feet, light-colored with dark crossbands and blotchy coloring in between, lives near West Texas mountain areas.

Blacktail Rattlesnake

Average length of 3.5 feet, colored gray to olive green with dark pattern down its back, lives near bushes and rocky areas of Central and West Texas.

Banded Rock Rattlesnake

Similar to the mottled rock rattlesnake but dark greenish-gray, found only in the extreme western tip of Texas.

Mojave Rattlesnake

Resembles a smaller and thinner version of the western diamondback, with dark diamond-shapes down its back, found in extreme West Texas.

Prairie Rattlesnake

Slender build with an average length of about 3 feet, typically green or gray-colored with round splotches down its back, found in the grassy plains of the western.

Western Massasauga

About 2 feet long, light gray with brown blotches down its back, lives in swampy grasslands in central Texas.

Desert Massasauga

Similar to western and eastern massasaugas but smaller and thinner, found in the Trans-Pecos, western Panhandle, and lower Rio Grande Valley areas of Texas.