What a day it’s turned out to be! So busy!
Ring o bells Thank you!
#Reptilerounds #blackthroatmonitor #reptilesofinstagram #animalexperience #reptilehandler
One of the single most coolest things I've seen! This is Steg! 🐊 Black Throat Monitor!
When you're doing spot cleaning and water changes and get the feeling you're being watched 👀 I see you there, Kurt 🐍🥰
Bears new suit 😍🐍💙
Bears new suit 😍🐍💙
Ecdysis: noun: The process of shedding old skin (in reptiles).
Ever wondered how, or why, a snake sheds is skin?
Why is simple.. It is done mostly to allow for growth. A snakes skin only stretches so far, then it needs to be shed in order for the snake to continue growing. This is why baby/young snakes shed more often as they are growing more rapidly. Older snakes growth slows and so they don't need to shed their skin quite as often. Shedding is also done as a way to remove potential parasites that my have attached to the skins surface, although hopefully that's not something we have to worry about so much in captivity compared to in the wild!
Here's the how.. As the snake starts to outgrow it's old skin it goes through a process we call "blue" (or zombie mode as we like to call it). During the very first stages of this you will notice the colour of your snake start to appear duller and darker and lighter coloured snakes may even develop a pink hue, especially on their tummy. As the process continues the eyes will cloud over and appear grey/blue (zombie mode activated) and during this time the snake will not be able to see as well and may be more skittish, hide away and/or go off food. This is caused by lubricants being produced between the old and new skin, allowing the old skin to effectively start to detach from the underlying body/skin. After this point the snake will appear almost back to normal, the eyes will go clear again but the skin will still look duller than usual. This process can last approx 2 weeks (species and size dependant).
Now it's time to shed those scales.. The snake needs to break the seal around the mouth/nose area and begin the process of peeling away all that old skin! To do this it will find any (usually rough) surface and begin to rub its nose/lips against that to lift a flap and start to peel the skin back, carefully working it's way over the face, eyes, head and neck until it reaches the body (they may even throw in a yawn or two to