Tampa Police Rattled By What They Found In New Tampa

TAMPA, FL -- For residents who think rattlesnakes are only found in the Southwest United States, the Tampa Police Department has news for you.

On Thursday, police were called to New Tampa after a resident found a large rattlesnake slithering through a bed of mulch at LA Fitness on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

"I was walking in that area yesterday and almost walked up on the snake," said resident Maureen Finnegan Brake. "Thankfully, a few people stopped to contact authorities to have the snake picked up and relocated."

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes can be found throughout Florida. They especially like palmetto thickets including pine flatwoods, sand pine scrub, longleaf pine and turkey oak habitats.

The Eastern diamondback is a large, heavy-bodied rattlesnake. Adults can grow to an average 3-6 feet in length and can weigh up to 10 pounds. The background color is brown, tan or yellow with brown diamonds down the back which are outlined in cream. They have large, broad heads with a dark stripe which is bordered in cream on both sides running diagonally through the eye. There is a facial pit between the eye and the nostril, and the tail ends in a rattle.

They spend most of their time concealed in vegetation waiting to ambush prey, or during winter months, in gopher tortoise burrows or stump holes.

Diamondback rattlesnakes are venomous and can strike a distance up to 2/3 the length of their bodies so stay away if you see one.