Shedding their skins

Moulting:  The most familiar example of moulting in reptiles is when snakes "shed their skin". This is usually achieved by the snake rubbing its head against a hard object, such as a rock (or between two rocks) or piece of wood, causing the already stretched skin to split. At this point, the snake continues to rub its skin on objects, causing the end nearest the head to peel back on itself, until the snake is able to crawl out of its skin, effectively turning the moulted skin inside-out. This is similar to how one might remove a sock from one's foot by grabbing the open end and pulling it over itself. The snake's skin is often left in one piece after the moulting process, including the discarded brille, so that the moult is vital for maintaining the animal's quality of vision.
Source:  Wikipedia

We've found a couple of these laying around the property in the last couple weeks.  Does this mean there are naked snakes slithering around our place?

Gross!

I guess there is one good reason why I should like cooler weather--the snakes go away for a few months.


Comments

polcat24 said…
This one is smaller then the one I found the other day in the frant yard.
September 19, 2012 at 9:47 PM
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