A common belief that baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous than adults has been overturned by a new study from Loma Linda University. After reviewing the history and spread of the myth, researchers concluded that bites from adult rattlesnakes are generally more dangerous because adults carry and inject much larger amounts of venom.
The study also disproves the widely repeated claim that baby rattlesnakes cannot control how much venom they release and therefore inject all of it when they bite. According to the researchers, this misconception has had serious real-world consequences.
The study states that the false belief has led "to negative consequences, including misinformed risk‐taking by those encountering snakes, unwarranted fear among snakebite victims, and inappropriate care delivered by misinformed or patient/family‐pressured medical professionals."
"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 School of Medicine and the study's lead researcher. "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."
