Most specimens also have a rustcolored stripe down the back. The belly is usually gray. The pygmy rattlesnake has a thin tail and a tiny rattle. This species lives under rocks on cedar glades and is so secretive that few people encounter it. The sound of the vibrating rattle is a faint buzz like the sound of a grasshopper.
Food includes small lizards, snakes, frogs and mice.
Although the bite of this species is not fatal, a bite victim should seek immediate medical attention. The pygmy should be respected and left alone. Counties bordering Arkansas and the eastern Missouri Ozarks. This is Missouri's largest venomous snake. Generally tan or yellowishtan, the timber rattlesnake has markings along the back which are dark brown and change from blotches on the neck to bands near the tail.