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How to Preserve Shed Snakeskin

Whether you are a professional wildlife expert or someone who sees the beauty in nature, preserving a snakeskin creates a unique decoration and teaching tool. Because its skin does not grow with the rest of a young snake's body, it sheds more often to accommodate for rapid growth, but mature snakes also shed three to four times per year. The loose layer of skin splits at the nose, and the snake slowly peels itself out, leaving behind the inverted skin.

Things You'll Need

Gloves
Tweezers
Scissors
Foam board
Straight pins
Clear container (optional)
Glue (optional)
Backing (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Look around rocks and logs for snakeskin. Snakes need these rough, permanent structures to push the skin from their bodies.
- 2
  Look at the skin and determine that the snakeskin is dry or mostly dry. If the skin is wet, the snake recently shed it and remains nearby.
- 3
  Clean debris from the surface of the snakeskin with your gloved fingertips or tweezers.
- 4
  Cut the snakeskin down the center of the stomach using scissors so that it can lie flat.
- 5
  Pin the skin to a piece of foam board with straight pins, carefully unfurling it as you pin.
- 6
  Place the foam board in a warm, dry place out of direct sunlight, so that the snakeskin dries completely.
- 7
  Create your display for the snakeskin. Enclose the foam board in a clear container, such as a shadow box, or unpin the skin and glue it to a backing, such as poster board or wood for framing or display cabinets.

Animals & Science