Hoarseness is generally caused by irritation of, or injury to, the vocal cords. The larynx (also referred to as the voice box), is the portion of the respiratory (breathing) tract containing the vocal cords. The vocal cords are two bands of muscle that form a V inside the larynx.
In some species babies are born alive. Other species lay eggs. In a strange combination of the two, some snakes have eggs that stay in their bodies until the eggs hatch and then the babies are born. Snakes can have anywhere from one to 150 baby snakes at a time.
First, not all snakes lay eggs. Many species of snakes, including all vipers (including rattlesnakes), boas, and all members of the garter and ribbon snake family, give birth to live young. Among those species that do lay eggs, the number of eggs laid depends on both the species, and the size of the female. Larger snakes lay larger clutches of eggs than smaller snakes of the same species. Some snakes may lay as few as 2 or 3 eggs, while some very large constrictors may lay up to 100. Some species of snakes will lay 2 clutches per year, or even 3 clutches (such as African House Snakes), but most species lay one clutch per year. For the majority of species (at least, non-equatorial ones), the breeding season is in the early spring, and eggs are laid in early summer.