Pet Snake Sheds His Skin On Camera

There are some people that are extremely grossed out at the notion of skin, and admittedly, they have every reason to be. The skin is created by three layers of tissues, the epidermis as the outer layer, the dermis in the middle and the subcutis as the base level. All of them are pressed together to create the largest organ in the human body. The subcutaneous tissue serves as a cushion, the middle layer constitutes of the building blocks of our skin, being home to nerve endings, glands, blood vessels and the roots of the tiny hairs all over our body. The epidermis however is made up of part living part dead cells which alert the immune system of any antibody trying to attack our body.

This being said, the outer layer of our skin is a graveyard to bacteria and dead skin cells and that makes it extremely gross. Snakes, similar to humans also shed their skin, but they do it in a more dramatic fashion. Although humans rarely notice the shedding of their skin, snakes leave the whole derm-armour behind them in transparent hollow ropes.

This footage shows us Zulu, the black mamba, shedding his skin one bit at a time. The shedding may take one to two weeks and it usually happens two to four times a year. If the snake is younger and growing at a faster rate, the shedding may occur in more frequent intervals in order to make room for the little snake to grow.