What is snake skin made of

Once the snakes have been peeled, the skins are rolled up and sorted into piles according to size. The snake meat is not wasted; it is thought to cure various ailments, such as asthma, and boost virility. Once dried, sheets of snakeskins are dyed and processed into bags, wallets, belts and shoes—and then sent overseas, where they will often receive a dramatic price markup.

In Indonesia, a snakeskin bag can cost 1. Join our newsletter to get exclusives on where our correspondents travel, what they eat, where they stay. Free to sign up. Sep 25 Photographer: Agoes Rudianto ,. In Indonesia, snake hunters feed a global industry. Snakeskin items are expensive because they are rare, making them luxury items. The size of the snake also makes it difficult to construct full-size goods.

Lastly, the skin is delicate and with age the scales tend to raise. Over the years, I have noticed that selecting real vs faux depends on two major factors. Cost, 2. I truly believe cost is the number one factor as most people are not ready to spend thousands of dollars on a bag that cannot be worn everyday. Like any exotic bag, it is more of a status symbol for most people and some just truly love the look of it, hence saving to make this purchase is well worth it.

A good amount of people believe that it is not necessary to kill animals to wear them. Hence there is a large population that opts for faux snakeskin because the leather used is obtained as a by-product of food, and the animals are not inhumanly killed for their skin.

Related posts. Comments Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Leave this field empty. When you touch a snake it feels warm and dry. All snakes lose their skin on a regular basis, indeed this can happen several times a year. As the snake grows its scaly skin becomes too small for its body.

The snake sheds this outer layer, which is thin but strong. Most animals, including humans, shed tiny pieces of dead skin all the time. Read more: Curious Kids: How do snakes make an 'sssssss' sound with their tongue poking out? But snakes have to do it all at once, and this is because snake skin is quite different to a lot of other animals.

The dermis is filled with nerves, which is what we use to feel things touching us, as well as tiny grains called pigments, which is what gives skin its colour. In mammals, like us, the keratin grows from a single point and keeps on growing — think how your fingernails grow from the end of your finger.