In others, they were servants of the dark world. People's reactions to snakes today are still as varied. Although people have coped with snakes for centuries, ancestors of snakes appeared long before our human predecessors. Rattlesnakes, however, give birth in autumn to five to 12 live young, each 1 to 2 feet long. Contrary to their reputation of being slimy, snake scales actually are smooth and dry.
Snakes often shed their skin more than once each year to accommodate their growing bodies.
Because snakes are ectothermic, they avoid temperature extremes and prefer to hunt in mild conditions. They use their forked tongues and heat-sensitive facial pits to determine what exists in their environment and to acquire prey. A dead rattlesnake, even if it has been decapitated, can still bite, although it cannot strike, and inject poison. The snake's heat sensory pits are active until rigor mortis sets in and will trigger a biting response if you place a warm object, such as a hand, near the snake's mouth. Most snakes prey predominantly on rodents, although some also eat bird eggs, nestlings and Insects.