We found this gopher snake under a rock on the reptiles and amphibians walk at the arboretum. Besides its beautiful body pattern, it had a strikingly milky blue eye. The eye becomes cloudy like this when the snake is starting to shed its skin, a process called ecdysis. The snake has a transparent, disc-shaped scale that covers the eye called a brille, also known as an eye-cap or spectacle. This immovable disc helps protect the eye and keeps it moist like our eyelids which snakes don’t have. During the act of shedding, snakes produce a fluid to help remove the old outer skin. The fluid can be seen clouding the transparent eye-cap which is essentially a modified scale that is part of the epidermal layer of skin being shed. During this time the snake’s vision is obscured, so they are usually hiding under rocks or logs for safety.
Shedding allows the snake to replace old, worn skin, grow, and help remove parasites. The species of snake, its age, gender, size, reproductive state, diet, and the season determine how often a snake will shed its skin. In general, younger snakes shed their skin often because they are growing more. Older snakes tend to shed their skin two to four times a year.