A rare, small-bodied snake, the eastern massasauga can be found in the Midwestern and Northern United States and Ontario. They live in shallow wetlands (typically grassy, flooded prairies) and adjacent uplands, including early successional forest and fire-dependent prairies. Eastern massasaugas have been recorded using crayfish holes to overwinter below the frost line.

It is readily distinguishable due to its small size compared to sympatric timber rattlesnakes, and greyish coloration with circular or rectangular blotches along the body. Due to its small size, locals often call this species "pygmy rattlesnakes"; however they are a distinctly separate species than their cousins Sistrurus miliarius.

This rattlesnake usually gives live birth to 5 to 20 young at a time annually to biannually, sometimes once every three years if food resources are low. Eastern Massasaugas primarily feed on small mammals.

This is one of two federally threatened species of rattlesnake in the United States. The population of the eastern massasauga is still in decline primarily due to habitat loss. Fragmentation of habitat due to roads, farmland, and urban sprawl is a large factor in habitat decline. Conservation of rattlesnakes is important to prevent further population decline. This is something we are helping to slow and reverse!

Fun fact: Massasauga's get their name from the native Ojibwe word, "massasauga", means "great river-mouth" in their language. This is likely a reference to the riparian prairies which the snakes inhabit.