Why do snakes shed their skin? Usually, a snake would get rid of its old skin to make room for more growth.
The snake skin is nothing like the skin of any mammal-humans inclusive, they don't grow like mammals do. When we get older, our skins age with us. But the skin or a snake has a restricted growth and enlargement capacity. So, whenever the snake gets bigger than its skin, it removes the outer covering and begins afresh. Once the growth is done with, the older skin will be removed, along with all parasites it picked up. The same colors and patterns of the old mechanism is retained by the new skin. Before shedding its skin, the skin color of the snake becomes pale and dull, and the eyes become whitish-blue in color. The layer of fluid developing between the new skin and the old one is responsible for this. While this period lasts, snakes in captivity may become irritable and nervous, probably because they are unable to see clearly until it completely removes its old skin from its head. They eat less during this shedding period and often hides because they have become quite vulnerable and defenseless.
Once its new skin is fully developed, its old skin no longer attaches firmly to the body of the snake, which marks the beginning of the shedding cycle. Sometimes, the snake will dip all its body in water beforehand. The snake accelerates the skin shedding process by brushing its body against a rough and hard surface such as a rock, thereby creating an opening in its nose or mouth area. The snake continues working on this rip until the whole old skin rips off, in a single piece, inside out.