Deadly three metre python needs a little help to shed its skin from a Chilean vet
- Three-metre Burmese python has trouble shedding its skin in Chile
- A vet comes to the rescue by holding python’s skin as it slithers away
- The dead layer of scales are peeled slowly away to reveal a new glossy layer
This was the morbidly satisfying moment a three and a half metre long Burmese Python shed its skin with the help of a vet in Chile.
The veterinarian lightly grips the body of the python, allowing the dead layer of scales to peel off slowly as it slithers out of its old skin.
In the three-minute clip the snake never seems to end as the skin is gently held by the vet while the python slides through his hands.
The vet explained that the snake did not have enough friction from where it was placed to shed properly.
The man behind the camera said: ‘Since it’s on a stand, it doesn’t have enough friction to slither the skin off, so the vet is grabbing the skin, allowing the python to move freely and shed the skin more efficiently.’
Snakes shed their skin regularly throughout their lives to get rid of any parasites that may have become attached.
The three and a half metre long Burmese python is held by the Chilean vet as it slithers through his hands
The shedding process can take up to two weeks and the snake will stop eating and find somewhere it can rub against a rough surface to help remove the old skin.
But this snake found itself in a tricky situation on a stand where a rough surface was not available.
While humans shed skin constantly snake skin comes away as one piece in a process called Ecdysis when even the eye caps will be removed.
When a snake cannot easily shed its skin or the skin does not come away as one piece it can cause health conditions and even death.