Watching This Snake Shedding Its Skin Is Creepy But Oddly Satisfying

It's so oddly satisfying to watch, but so scary at the same time.

Why do snakes shed their skin? It is because they're growing! They keep getting bigger and bigger for quite a long time, so they have to shed their skin to manage to grow.

Sometimes parasites also attach to snakes' old skin, so it's a good way to get rid of them. As a snake grows, its skin will become stretched.

Very different than human skin, snakes skin doesn't grow as the animal grow, which means it will eventually reach a point where no further growth will be possible.

All animals shed their skin in some way to create room for more growth.

The process by which any reptile sheds its skin is named ecdysis. It's quite the process and can last approximately 9-14 days depending on the reptile.

Lizards, for instance, shed their skin in a different way than snakes do. Lizards shed their skin in pieces, while snakes shed in one single piece in the ideal conditions.

Reading through the comments on this video, a lot of people have been saying false information regarding helping a snake shed its skin, but thanks to one reader named Stuart Mitchell who has helped clear all of that up for everyone.

"Does it hurt the snake if you peel their skin off? Short answer, No. A lot of people tend to increase the humidity and add moisture to their skin to aid in peeling. Many owners will say that it helps a lot. From the video, you can easily tell that the peeled skin is soft and moistened because it does not break or crack. Does it harm their new skin? Again, No. A snakes viv should have the correct UV lighting; the UV acts to heal the new skin quite rapidly. It feels good for the snake to shed off the old tight skin. The second clue is obviously if it hurt the snake then you would definitely know."

Watch the videos of the snakes shedding their skin below: