Huge rattlesnake found in backyard of Tennessee home

CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — If you hate snakes this will give you nightmares.  

Take a look at the enormous timber rattlesnake found in Rob Freeman’s backyard in Cheatham County.  

His wife and son were playing in the yard right before the poisonous monster showed up.  

It measured 6 1/2 feet long and he says it had just eaten a squirrel.

When he saw this dangerous snake on his property he decided he had to kill it. 

But first, he called the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, where an agent told him it was OK to kill the snake.

Timber rattle snakes are endangered across the U.S.

And in Tennessee, it is illegal to harm or remove them from the wild without the proper permits, unless the snake is a threat to you, your family or your animals.  And Freeman said this one was a threat. 

This is not the first time Freeman has seen a timber rattle snake near his home. 

According to the Tennessee Herpetology Society, they live all over Tennessee, are active from mid-March to mid-October, and tend to eat small animals like rodents.