page_title: Reptile scale
section_title: Ecdysis
hierarchical_section_title: Reptile scale / Ecdysis
context_page_description: Reptile skin is covered with scutes or scales which, along with many other characteristics, distinguish reptiles from animals of other classes. Scales are made of alpha and beta-keratin and are formed from the epidermis. They may be ossified or tubercular, as in the case of lizards, or modified elaborately, as in the case of snakes.
context_section_description: The shedding of scales is called ecdysis, or, in normal usage moulting or sloughing.
  Moulting serves a number of functions - first, the old and worn skin is replaced; second, it helps get rid of parasites such as mites and ticks. Renewal of the skin by moulting is supposed to allow growth in some animals such as insects, however this view has been disputed in the case of snakes.
  In the case of lizards, this coating is shed periodically, usually coming off in flakes, but in some cases, such as lizards having elongated bodies, in a single piece. Some geckos will eat their own shed skin.
  In the case of snakes, the complete outer layer of skin is shed in one layer. Snake scales are not discrete but extensions of the epidermis hence they are not shed separately, but are ejected as a complete contiguous outer layer of skin during each moult, akin to a sock being turned inside out. Moulting is repeated periodically throughout a snake's life. Before a moult, the snake stops eating and often hides or moves to a safe place. Just prior to shedding, the skin becomes dull and dry looking and the eyes become cloudy or blue-colored. The old skin breaks near the mouth and the snake wriggles out, aided by rubbing against rough surfaces. In many cases the cast skin peels backward over the body from head to tail, in one piece like an old sock. A new, larger, and brighter layer of skin has formed underneath.
  An older snake may shed its skin only once or twice a year, but a younger, still-growing snake, may shed up to four times a year.
caption: Cascavel (Crotalus durrisus), a rattlesnake, seen moulting.
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