All lizards shed their skin, no matter whether they give birth to live young (viviparous) or lay eggs (oviparous).
Lizard scales are made out of keratin, the same chemical that makes up our fingernails and our hair. Keratin doesn’t grow like our skin does. The keratin layer on lizards and snakes gets made a particular size and doesn’t get bigger as the animal grows.
As the animal gets too big for the keratin layer, the layer starts to split in places. The lizard or snake will then rub itself against rough objects to try and loosen the layer to help get it off. That’s why if you have a pet lizard or snake, you should put some rocks in it’s terrarium so that it can shed it’s skin properly when the time comes.
All lizards shed their skin, no matter whether they give birth to live young (viviparous) or lay eggs (oviparous).
Lizard scales are made out of keratin, the same chemical that makes up our fingernails and our hair. Keratin doesn’t grow like our skin does. The keratin layer on lizards and snakes gets made a particular size and doesn’t get bigger as the animal grows.
As the animal gets too big for the keratin layer, the layer starts to split in places. The lizard or snake will then rub itself against rough objects to try and loosen the layer to help get it off. That’s why if you have a pet lizard or snake, you should put some rocks in it’s terrarium so that it can shed it’s skin properly when the time comes.
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