Researchers testing the potency of rattlesnake venom have discovered that baby serpents don’t pack more venom than their adult counterparts. The new discovery debunks a common myth about the power of snake defense. “This is an easily defanged myth that has generated dread, panic, and real-life consequences,” said William Hayes, professor of biology at Loma Linda University in California, in a press release. “Ample evidence demonstrates that baby rattlers, like adults, can control their venom expulsion, the adults possess and deliver far more venom when biting, and the adults cause substantially more severe symptoms in snakebite victims.”
In a study published recently in the journal Toxins, Hayes and his colleague Cale Morris, also at Loma Linda University, addressed the myth that the concentration of venom is higher in younger snakes or that younger snakes have less control over the amount of venom they release when striking. Research has often shown the opposite, but the myth persists. The researchers found that this myth likely traces back to the 1960s and that even emergency responders and healthcare professionals believed the myth, which increases unnecessary fear among snakes already vilified in society.
