Rattlesnake hitches ride on a ferrari across British Columbia

[Bogertophis]

That's what I love about this forum. You learn something new everyday.

I agree, I learn stuff too. With rattlesnakes, they're born with only a "button" & every time they shed, they add a segment to their rattle. But you cannot tell their age by counting the segments of their rattle, only how many times it has shed* since born, UNTIL the rattle breaks at some point. They're made of keratin, just like our fingernails, so rattles are subject to breakage, especially for wild rattlesnakes- crawling over rocks & all, damage happens & the longer their rattle gets, the more likely it is to break- often in the middle. Sometimes they'll end up laying on their rattles, so when they move off, the rattle may get bent & if it's already weakened or damaged, it may break. *The number of times they shed in a year depends on how much food they get, and how much they can digest -those living in warmer areas have more months in the year to eat & grow than snakes in colder states that brumate longer. But prey isn't always plentiful either- it's a rough life out there.