Biologist Brian Barczyk recorded that his anaconda named Ivy was shedding her skin. The video shows the 40kg snake roaming its nest until the old covering falls off and leaves the giant anaconda’s body.

The biologist has already tried to photograph the change in the skin of the anaconda, but to no avail. Finally he did it – Photo: @BrianBarczykES/Disclosure/ND

“Seeing a snake transform is pretty amazing and challenging. But seeing a giant anaconda is even more amazing,” emphasizes reptile enthusiast and YouTube channel owner Brian Barczyk en Español.

He explains that a shift takes an average of an hour, but sometimes it can take several hours. “We tried to make [filmar a mudança] a year ago, but we always lose. We have moved the footage to the accelerated mode, but it has not changed, ”he notes.

“Imagine that you see a snake weighing over 40 kg, slowly shedding its skin, without arms and legs. I am very glad that I fixed it, ”the biologist emphasizes, not hiding his joy at the feat.

See how the anaconda transforms

Why do snakes shed their skin?

Shedding the skin, as with the anaconda, is necessary for the snake to grow, as explained by Prof. Jaime Bertolucci of the Luis de Queiroz Agricultural College of the University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, to the Brazilian agency.

He explains that the skin makes growth difficult because the scales that protect the animal from water loss are hard. Thus, the snake sheds the top layer of its skin in order to grow and create a new one, exactly the size that it needs.