That all makes sense. I think I was trying to be too balanced by going for health upgrades too many times and got burned by not saving up enough ammo a few times which I overcorrected into getting an ammo mutation or two every run. I'd probably be better off just embracing the glass cannon playstyle and going for one-shots more. Basically, skill issue on my part.
I'm still not sure how snake scales work, but I guess I'll figure it out for myself in the next demo version!