Most people think that you can tell a rattlesnakes age by the number of segments on its rattle. One segment for each year, but that is a myth. It’s untrue. Rattlesnakes can shed their skin up to 4 times a year from birth thru the juvenile stage, depending on on how often they can eat. If food is plentiful they grow faster thus shedding more often. Shedding 2 to 3 times a year is quite common. And they add a new segment to the rattle each time they shed their skin. Also, rattles can break off making it appear that the snake has shed very few times. So a rattlesnake’s age cannot be accurately be determined by the number of segments on the rattle.
Most people think that you can tell a rattlesnakes age by the number of segments on its rattle. One segment for each year, but that is a myth. It’s untrue. Rattlesnakes can shed their skin up to 4 times a year from birth thru the juvenile stage, depending on on how often they can eat. If food is plentiful they grow faster thus shedding more often. Shedding 2 to 3 times a year is quite common. And they add a new segment to the rattle each time they shed their skin. Also, rattles can break off making it appear that the snake has shed very few times. So a rattlesnake’s age cannot be accurately be determined by the number of segments on the rattle.