Joanne La George, age 13, of Rochester, New York, for her question:
How often does a snake shed his skin?
The average snake sheds his papery top skin at least once a year and sometimes as often as six times. It depends upon where he lives and how busy he is, also upon the weather and perhaps on the size of a mayor meal. A pet snake who lives a rather lazy life may be expected to shed once or maybe twice a year.
A snake lives close to the ground, where his skin gets a lot of wear and tear. To some extent, it is protected by a papery thin epidermis of dead cells that fits like a tight stocking. Under this is his true skin, a thick waterproof hide covered with scales which help him to grip the ground His one piece epidermis covers the scales from end to end and even covers the glassy lids which are sealed over his staring eyes.
When he glides through scratchy grasses and slithers over scratchy stones, his epidermis becomes scuffed and shabby. Meantime a new layer of dead cells forms on the surface of the true skin. When this is complete, it is time for the snake to shed his shabby old epidermis and emerge in a new one.
Flow often this happens depends upon his living conditions. If he does a lot of traveling over rough ground, he may need to replace his top skin every month or so. If he has to hibernate through a long cold winter, he may not shed for several months. Sometimes a snake devours an enormous meal and goes into quiet retirement to digest it. He may rest as long as a w year without shedding. Usually, however, even an inactive snake needs to shed at least once a year.
When the time comes to change, the old epidermis becomes dull and very dry. The snake's eyes are blurred, his skin feels tight. He becomes uncom¬fortable and irritable. He tries to find a sharp stone or a tuft of grass to help him wriggle out of that miserable old skin.
Shedding is a very difficult problem because the epidermis is peeled off like a stoclcins and the snake has no hands or limbs to help him. It makes him very nervous because until the task is finished, he is more or¬less helpless and at the mercy of his enemies.
He begins by rubbing his head against a stone or some other rough ob¬ject. This loosens the papery skin around his mouth. With more rubbing and wriggling, he manages to peel it back over his head. Now the dull old epidermis is removed from his eyelids and he can see again. Inch by inch he rolls the shabby old stocking farther and farther back toward his tail. At last he wriggles free.
If you have a pet snake, provide assistance but kindly let him do his own peeling. Add some rough stones to his terrarium, also a large dish of water. Some snakes like to soak before shedding. If all goes well, he should wriggle free in about half an hour. If the job takes an hour or more, he may need to rub against a larger, rougher stone.