How Does a Snake Shed Skin?
Why Snakes Shed Their Skins As a snake grows, its skin stays the same size, so the snake has to shed its skin every now and then and grow a new one. Some snakes shed only a few times a year; others shed several times during a three-month period. When the snake’s outer skin is ready to be shed, it will lose its color and shine and become dull and transparent. Meanwhile, a new, fresh and colorful skin is forming beneath the old one. With the secretion of an oil between the two layers to help lubricate the outer layer, the snake is ready to begin the process. Tearing and Shedding the Skin The snake will scrape its face against rocks, wood or any rough object it can find until the outer layer of skin tears open on its face. It then wiggles its head through the break in the skin and finds a tight spot to squeeze through such as a crevice in a rock or a couple boulders that are fitted tightly together. This pulls the loose skin from the snake’s body as it slithers through the gap. The skin t
