Shedding skin is a natural process for snakes. As they grow, their skin cannot stretch any further, so they must periodically shed it and grow a new layer. This has led some people to wonder – do snakes leave or abandon their homes after shedding their skin?
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: No, snakes do not leave or abandon their homes just because they have shed their skin. Shedding is a natural process that does not cause snakes to change their behavior or leave their established home range.
In this article, we’ll go over the shedding process in more detail, look at whether there are any behavioral changes in snakes after shedding, examine scientific research on snake movement and home ranges, and explain why the idea that snakes leave after shedding is a myth.
The Snake Shedding Process
How Snakes Shed Their Skin
Snakes shed their skin in a process called ecdysis or molting. As snakes grow, their skin cannot stretch to fit their increasing size. So, they grow a new layer of skin under the old one. When ready, snakes rub against rough surfaces to help separate the old outer layer.
This allows them to wriggle out of their too-tight skin, turning it inside out as they crawl out.
Shedding skin comes off in one piece, inside-out, including the eye caps. It looks like a transparent, thin layer of the snake’s pattern. Shortly before shedding, snakes often appear dull in color as the older skin becomes loose.
Their eyes also turn a milky blue-white temporarily when the eye caps begin to loosen.
The whole shedding process takes one to two weeks. Factors like health, age, growth rate, species, and environment impact the frequency.
Frequency of Shedding
Younger snakes may shed up to four times a month, while adult snakes average between four and 12 times per year. Snakes that are rapidly growing shed more often than mature adults. Poor health conditions like dehydration or malnutrition can also decrease shedding frequency.
Some popular pet snake species and their average shedding frequency include:
- Ball pythons – once every one to two months
- Corn snakes – once every one to two months
- Kingsnakes – once every one to three months
- Milk snakes – once every six to eight weeks
- Boa constrictors – every two to four months
Be sure to provide proper humidity, hydration, nutrition and habitat materials to support your snake’s shedding process. Consult an exotic veterinarian if their shedding seems abnormal.
Do Snakes Act Differently After Shedding?
No Evidence of Behavioral Changes
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that snakes behave differently or experience any major changes after shedding their skin. Shedding is a natural process that occurs regularly throughout a snake’s life to allow for growth.
While the shedding process itself may make a snake appear irritated or restless, once the old skin has been shed, they typically return to normal behavior.
Snakes rely heavily on their scales for protection and sensing vibrations. During the shedding process, the old scales become dull and worn. This impairs the snake’s abilities until the old skin has been shed.
So snakes may seem more defensive or anxious as their skin becomes loose and opaque leading up to a shed. But this is simply due to the temporary discomfort and vulnerability of shedding.
According to herpetologists, most species of snakes do not display any significant changes in behavior before or after shedding. They go about their usual activities – eating, sleeping, hunting, exploring.
Common snakes like corn snakes, ball pythons, rat snakes, and garter snakes act no differently than usual once their skin has been shed.
While the shedding process itself may be stressful for a snake, afterward their behaviors go back to normal. Shedding is simply a natural part of a snake’s life cycle that allows them to grow. Overall, no major behavioral changes have been observed in snakes after shedding compared to before.
Shedding is Natural and Does Not Alter Behavior
Shedding skin is a natural biological process for snakes. They shed their skin regularly throughout their lives, which allows the snake to grow. Young, growing snakes may shed more frequently, while adult snakes typically shed a few times per year.
The shedding process occurs as a new layer of skin develops underneath the old, worn out skin. As the new skin expands, it causes the older outer layer to separate and eventually shed off in one piece. Shedding allows the new scales and skin underneath to become the snake’s new outer layer.
This natural process does not alter a snake’s behavior. According to wildlife experts, snakes do not have distinct personality changes before or after shedding. Their overall temperament and behavior patterns remain the same.
Some minor behavioral changes may occur right before shedding when the old skin becomes loose and opaque. Snakes will start to rub against rocks, logs, or other objects to help loosen the skin. They may seem more defensive during this time as the process can be irritating.
However, these changes are temporary.
Once the skin has been shed, snakes return to their normal routines. They resume regular feeding, exploring, basking, and other behaviors. The new scales and skin allow the snake to sense vibrations better, move more smoothly, and grow.
But shedding does not affect their baseline temperament or cause lasting behavioral changes.
Snake Movement and Home Ranges
Snakes Maintain Established Home Ranges
Most snakes are not aimless wanderers, but instead occupy and defend a specific home range area. A snake’s home range is the area it repeatedly travels through and uses for food, shelter, mating, and other activities.
While the size of home ranges varies considerably among species, individual snakes show strong site fidelity and will repeatedly return to the same areas year after year.
For example, a study of eastern indigo snakes in southern Georgia found that adult snakes maintained home ranges of 138-277 acres. The snakes concentrated their activities in just a portion of the home range at any given time, but would move around and use different parts of their range throughout the year.
Familiarity with a home range offers snakes several advantages. They can quickly find shelter, food, and water resources in areas they already know well. Resident snakes also gain a territorial edge over intruders through site familiarity.
Interestingly, some studies have shown that transplanting snakes out of their home range leads to increased stress hormone levels and decreased immune function.
Exceptions: Long-Distance Migrations
While most snakes occupy stable home ranges, some species embark on dramatic, long-distance migrations. One famous example is the eastern indigo snake, which may migrate up to 7 miles in the spring and fall between summer and winter activity ranges.
These seasonal migrations bring snakes to optimal habitats during different times of year.
Other migratory snake species include:
- Red-sided garter snakes, which migrate up to 5 miles en masse from their winter dens to summer feeding grounds.
- Cottonmouths, which make movements up to 2.5 miles between summer aquatic habitats and winter upland dens.
- Timber rattlesnakes, which migrate up to 4 miles between den sites and summer ranges.
These migrations are driven by the seasonal availability of resources. While most snakes remain in their home ranges year-round, some populations make remarkable journeys between areas up to 100 miles apart each year!
Scientists are still studying how these snakes navigate their long-distance travels.
Why Do People Think Snakes Leave After Shedding?
Misinterpretations of Snake Behavior
Many folks assume snakes slither away after shedding their skin due to misinterpreting normal snake behavior (Source). Snakes tend to be less active while in shed, seeking isolated areas in their enclosure and avoiding food.
This period of relative inactivity leaves the impression that the snake has vanished. However, the reality is that snakes simply turn reclusive in the days leading up to a shed. Once finished shedding, a snake resumes its usual behavior, creating the false perception that the original snake has departed and a “new snake” has appeared.
Anecdotal Observations and Confirmation Bias
Additionally, anecdotal observations and confirmation bias propagate the myth. When a snake sheds shortly after being brought home from the pet store, the owner assumes the “original” snake must have made a swift getaway. Friends sharing similar accounts reinforces this belief.
In truth, the timing is merely coincidental, as shedding frequency depends on factors like the snake’s growth rate, health, and environment. Still, such personal stories can strongly sway one’s reasoning (Source).
With a large sample size of snake owners, there will inevitably be cases of serendipitous timing between shedding events and other circumstances. Viewed in isolation, these chance events seem meaningful rather than random.
Conclusion
In conclusion, scientific evidence shows that snakes do not leave or abandon their home ranges simply because they have shed their skin. Shedding is a natural process that does not significantly impact their behavior.
While some snake species do migrate long distances, these movements are driven by seasonal factors like temperature, food availability and breeding – not shedding. Claims that snakes leave after shedding are not supported and are likely due to misinterpreting natural snake behavior and movement.
So rest assured that snakes are unlikely to vacate their homes right after shedding their skin!
