One of the most common misapprehensions about snakes that always surprises me a little is that people think snakes are “slimy.”
Not so! Quite the opposite!
Snake scales are made of keratin, the same substance your fingernails and hair are made of… a sort of “organic plastic.” If you’ve ever seen a snake’s shed skin, you know their scales are also translucent, which gives them a rainbow, iridescent sheen that makes them appear shiny & wet. However, it FEELS more like running your hand across the surface of a basketball… just dry, textured plastic.
One of the primary purposes of having a tough, “plastic” skin is to RETAIN as much moisture as possible, which is why reptiles are able dominate the driest environments on earth… something they would never be able to do if they were “slimy.”
