The food habitats of Missouri's snakes are as varied as the types of snakes we have. Some, such as the rough green snake, eat insects and insect larvae. Others, like the water snakes, eat fish, frogs, tadpoles or crayfish. The black rat snake and bullsnake eat rodents and small birds and their eggs. Kingsnakes also eat rodents and are important predators on lizards and other snakes, including venomous snakes.
All snakes shed their outer layer of skin periodically as they grow.
Young ones usually shed once every four or five weeks during warm months, whereas adults may shed once every six, or eight weeks during their active season. In the case of rattlesnakes, a new segment is added at the base of the rattle at each shedding. In Missouri, rattlesnakes may shed from two to five times a year. As the rattle becomes longer. In Missouri, snakes normally breed in the spring, soon after they emerge from winter dormancy.