CHANGING THE SKIN. 17 
begins to get too tight, it is discarded. In the case of adult 
snakes, it is thrown off when it gets shabby, dirty, and injured. 
Naturally before the old skin is shed, a new skin has formed 
beneath, and the snake on emerging from its old covering looks 
clean, silky and bright, the markings and colours showing up to 
perfection. The new skin, for some hours, is thin, soft, and 
sensitive, particularly so immediately after the casting process. 
I tried once to assist a captive snake to shed its skin, and somehow 
pulled too fast or clumsily the skin it was casting, which resulted 
in the new skin beneath being badly torn, and exposing the flesh. 
Fic. 9.—A Boomslang in the act of casting its skin amongst the branches of a tree. The 
snake’s tail-end has not yet been withdrawn from the old skin. 
The old skin, when being shed, is not actually loose. The 
operation of shedding the skin is similar to pasting down a strip 
of ribbon with a strong adhesive, and slowly peeling it off again 
before it is dry. The old skin of the snake adheres closely to the 
new one beneath, but seems to peel off very easily. Snakes in 
captivity should have tufts of grass, bundles of twigs, or loose 
stones in their cage to provide the necessary frictional resistance 
in the skin-casting process. 
Cc 
