How can you tell whether a baby snake is a rattle snake?????

Question

I know that adults have heads shaped like an arrowhead, eyes like cats and the rattle on the tail but how can you tell with baby snakes?????

I saw two snakes this morning but didn't kill them because I wasn't sure if they were rattlesnakes or not. Heads were sorta arrowhead like but not really.... the tails were long and pointy like non venomous snakes.

I still probably should have killed them because a rattlesnake bit my chihuahua in the face and if not for emergency anti-venom treatment he would've died. Cost us $1500.

Answer 1

That's horrible, why would you kill them. You move into their territory if you don't like them then move but you shouldn't kill something for trying to protect itself and living it's life where it was meant to be. I hate people like you who think they have the right to kill an animal because you don't like it. They were there first and deserve to be treated with respect.

Answer 2

Baby rattlesnakes look just like the adult rattlesnakes, just smaller. The tail on a new born rattlesnake looks like it has been cut off on the end and blunt where the rattle will eventually grow (it is called a pre-button). As the rattlesnake grows, it sheds its skin and an additional segment of the rattle is added. The first shed and the rattlesnake will have the official "button" ( this is usually done in the first 10 days after it is born). Now comes the tricky part of rattle growing. Depending on how well the new baby rattlesnake can find food and how often will determine how often the snake will shed its skin (each shed adds a rattle segment). If the food hunting is good, the rattlesnake will grow quickly and shed its skin often (and it can be as often as EVERY 6 WEEKS).
I have included 2 links of a rattle photo, first is a young snake and the second is an older snake where the rattles have started to break off from age.

http://stockpix.com/tierraphoto/dr3communication/503217_thumbnail.jpg

http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/animal_images/rattle47.jpg

Answer 3

Most people believe that you can age a rattlesnake by the number of rattle segments. If the snake has 7 rattle segments, it is believed to be 7 years old (1 rattle/year). This is not true, since a rattle segment is added to the tail area, with each shedding (2-4 times a year). Rattlesnakes are born with a rattle segment called a prebutton, at the tip of their tail. The juvenile rattlesnake normally sheds it skin within the first 7 days after its birth. The prebutton is shed with the skin and replaced with a new underlying button. The shedding frequency depends on how much the snake is eating and growing. Skin shedding is required for the snakes growth and to replace worn skin. In the wild, the rattles get cracked and segments are often broken off. The rattle segments interlock together and are made of a keratin substance similar to horns, feathers, or our fingernails.

Most snakes (70%) are oviparous and lay an egg (e.g. bullsnake) with a soft leathery shell for the development of the young. Rattlesnakes are ovoviviparous, giving birth to living young (not from eggs); the fertile eggs develop within the female's body. The young develop coiled in a fetal sac - within a thin membranous wrap - in the female's oviduct area. A female rattlesnake will give birth to an average of 8-12 young (up to 24+) in August or September. The baby rattlers are normally 10 inches in length at birth. In the cooler northern climates, a female rattlesnake gives birth to young only every other year, not annually in South Dakota. The female rattlesnakes exhibit very little maternal care or protection for their young. Some mothers stay close to their young for a few days, mainly due to the exhaustion of giving birth. The young are on their own to find food and protective cover. Like other wild animals, many of the young do not survive beyond their first year of life.

Answer 4

Killing the snakes won't lower your bills.

A baby viper will have the pit or depression as well as the longish eyes. Round eyes indicate it is not poisonous, but look for the pit between the eyes and the nose as well.

You should not leave your chihuahua where the snakes can roam. The snakes were on the land first. You and the chihuahua are guests.

Those poisonous snakes are keeping your area as free of mice and rats as you allow. Kill the snakes, and you disrupt the ecology.

If it weren't the rattlesnakes, you might have some other problem. Goes with living this side of Eden. Best you deal with it in a non-violent way.

Many times peope kill non-poisonous snakes because they fail to know the difference. Why not just act with caution? Poisonous snakes won't bother you if you don't surprise or bother them.

Answer 5

All rattle snakes have "cat's eyes", vertical pupils & a small button at the base of the tail which is their first rattle bud. It doesn't buzz like a more mature rattler, but the baby will shake it. Their heads will be arrow shaped, as you said, but in a baby, it's hard to tell. Sorry about your pup gettin' bit, but the snake didn't come after your dog, your dog was in the snake's house. These snakes are very easy to avoid, so don't go killing them out of hand just because your dog made a mistake.

Answer 6

If the snake's *** is shaking and attling, it's a rattle snake buddy.

Answer 7

baby rattlesnakes still have rattles, they are just small and not as loud as adult rattlesnakes

Answer 8

There are different markings that will tell you that

Answer 9

kill all snakes they are all bad

Answer 10

The tail! DUH!!