Reptile & Amphibian Forums

the rattlesnakes tail?

BF asked me this and I haven't any clue to the answer. Is it bone? Just kind of curious.....

Thanks in advance,
Izora

It's, basically, the tip of their tail. When they shed the new tail tip is inside the left over one, which is held on in a ball-and-socket sort of shape. Then, when it sheds again, the new tip is inside the previous tip, which is inside the previous tip, etc.

Ergo the old wives' tale that you can tell a rattlesnake's age by the number of rattles (or "buttons" is, obviously, false, as a snake may shed numerous times per year, and more or less than another identically-aged animal. All the number of bottons tells you is how many times that animal has shed IF it hasn't lost any bottons, which they often do in the wild.
Viper Reptiles

The rattle is made from keriton(sp) same as our nails and hair.and it is as the other poster stated the end of the tail and each segment is added at the time of a shed
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William and JD
Tegus for you

To further elaborate just a bit:

It is the same material that makes up the "skin" that a snake sheds periodically. If you look at a shed skin, you'll see the shape of the surface of each scale. The scale that covers the tip of the tail happens to be shaped in such a way that when the "skin" comes off, rather than being lost the section on the surface of that scale moves out a notch, but is intelocked to the remaining scale. It also grows thicker than the skin on the rest of the body.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

YEP thats the ticket
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William and JD
Tegus for you

you know now i feel like eric of north shore got my signature fixed
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William Gornto
Tegus for you

n/p