Not your standard spring photos this time.
Spring is the time when reptiles of all manner come out of hibernation to have a feed, shed their skins, and find a mate.
Isis, the carpet python, is in the process of shedding her skin in these photos. First the snake will nuzzle to break the scales around the nose and mouth line then, through moving amongst obstructions, will slowly peel the old skin back and slide from it. The whole process can take about 1/2 an hour and produces bright new colouration, for about a week, as the new scales dry and harden.
Before shedding, the snake will go "off colour" as secretions between the new and old layers prepare for the easy removal of the old. This secretion also causes the snakes eyes to go misty - making the snake close to blind, though this will clear closer to the shed time.
