Uploaded October 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Many animals shed their outer layer. Molting is a way of ensuring the body grows and sets the creature up for the next stage of life. You have many animals — such as the Dungeness crab — that have rigid shells that won’t grow. But, their bodies do. So, to allow natural growth, Mother Nature gave them an outer body that “breaks” or molds and falls off.
10: Crabs
The ability for growth isn’t the only reason crabs molt. When shedding its shells, the crab relieves itself of barnacles and parasites potentially living in its shell. Generally, a crab molts dozens of times throughout its life cycle. Crabs can even regenerate their legs.
When it’s time to molt, the crab forms a paper-thin shell under the existing one, absorbing nutrients for hardening its upcoming exoskeleton.
9: Grasshoppers
The grasshopper lives for about a year. It goes from egg to nymph to adult. During that period, it molts five to six times during the nymph phase. Unlike a variety of arthropods that molt for their entire lives, the grasshopper reaches adulthood and stops the shedding process.
8: Snakes
Snakes, one of the most common animals to shed skin, molt, and leave their old skin in one piece. The snake shed process is unique to vertebrates. But unlike the typical arthropods, snakes do not have exoskeletons. How often a snake will shed depends on temps, the amount of food, and other environmental factors. On average, terrestrials shed their skin up to three times every year.
7: Bighorn Sheep
There are mammals that molt as snakes and insects do. A lot of these animals shed their wool, hair, or fur on a periodic or seasonal year-round schedule. The largest wild sheep in North America, the bighorn, shed their winter coats in the late spring and early summer. The molting minimizes heat stress in the hottest parts of the year. The shedding also makes navigation easier at higher, rugged elevations.
6: Frogs
A frog’s skin will harden. They shed old skin to avoid that. If they didn’t and the skin hardened, the animal couldn’t get enough oxygen. The frog breathes through its skin when it’s in water. The process is relatively easy. When it’s time, the animal assumes a crouching, scrunched position that creates a rip in the old skin. The frog then stretches and the old skin splits. The frog then peels the skin off.
5: Humans
The outermost layer of skin on humans, the epidermis, constantly evolves. When the skin’s too dry, desmosomes in the enzymes will degrade and will malfunction. That leads to cells clumping. The cells shed as one, instead of single cells shedding invisibly. The clumps are visible as scales or flakes.
4: Spiders
Like many creatures, spiders shed their exoskeletons to prevent growth stunting. The arachnid’s frame grows while its outer shell doesn’t. The spider has an outer shell consisting of an elastic, inner layer and one right, outer layer. When it’s time to shed, the spider releases unique hormones that encourage molting.
3: Dogs
Shedding is critical to the animal’s fur and skin health. Many dog lovers live with the molting of their dogs. Most canines shed in the spring and autumn, dependent on environment, breed, and climate. Another factor is whether the dog has a single or double layer of fur.
2: Birds
Keratin is a substance located in hooves, horns, fingernails, claws, turtle shells, and porcupine quills. The outer layer of the skin is the epidermis. This same surface is composed of dead cells made of keratin. There is also keratin in feathers. The compound is critical for flying creatures to stay in the air.
1: Caterpillars
Caterpillars shed their exoskeletons four to five times during their growth stages. The insect outgrows its exoskeleton, expands its body, splits the outer layer, and crawls out. Now, the exoskeleton isn’t like atypical skin. It’s more like a fingernail, sliding off with the old skin peeling back from the front.
The shed process is important as the caterpillar increases its body mass up to 1,000 times. We refer to the stage between molts as an instar. During these periods, the caterpillar consumes tremendous amounts of food. Typically, the creature consumes up to 27,000 times its body weight throughout its life, most of that during molt stages.
#animalsshedskin #skinshedinganimals #animalsthatshedtheirskin
Many animals shed their outer layer. Molting is a way of ensuring the body grows and sets the creature up for the next stage of life. You have many animals — such as the Dungeness crab — that have rigid shells that won’t grow. But, their bodies do. So, to allow natural growth, Mother Nature gave them an outer body that “breaks” or molds and falls off.
10: Crabs
The ability for growth isn’t the only reason crabs molt. When shedding its shells, the crab relieves itself of barnacles and parasites potentially living in its shell. Generally, a crab molts dozens of times throughout its life cycle. Crabs can even regenerate their legs.
When it’s time to molt, the crab forms a paper-thin shell under the existing one, absorbing nutrients for hardening its upcoming exoskeleton.
9: Grasshoppers
The grasshopper lives for about a year. It goes from egg to nymph to adult. During that period, it molts five to six times during the nymph phase. Unlike a variety of arthropods that molt for their entire lives, the grasshopper reaches adulthood and stops the shedding process.
8: Snakes
Snakes, one of the most common animals to shed skin, molt, and leave their old skin in one piece. The snake shed process is unique to vertebrates. But unlike the typical arthropods, snakes do not have exoskeletons. How often a snake will shed depends on temps, the amount of food, and other environmental factors. On average, terrestrials shed their skin up to three times every year.
7: Bighorn Sheep
There are mammals that molt as snakes and insects do. A lot of these animals shed their wool, hair, or fur on a periodic or seasonal year-round schedule. The largest wild sheep in North America, the bighorn, shed their winter coats in the late spring and early summer. The molting minimizes heat stress in the hottest parts of the year. The shedding also makes navigation easier at higher, rugged elevations.
6: Frogs
A frog’s skin will harden. They shed old skin to avoid that. If they didn’t and the skin hardened, the animal couldn’t get enough oxygen. The frog breathes through its skin when it’s in water. The process is relatively easy. When it’s time, the animal assumes a crouching, scrunched position that creates a rip in the old skin. The frog then stretches and the old skin splits. The frog then peels the skin off.
5: Humans
The outermost layer of skin on humans, the epidermis, constantly evolves. When the skin’s too dry, desmosomes in the enzymes will degrade and will malfunction. That leads to cells clumping. The cells shed as one, instead of single cells shedding invisibly. The clumps are visible as scales or flakes.
4: Spiders
Like many creatures, spiders shed their exoskeletons to prevent growth stunting. The arachnid’s frame grows while its outer shell doesn’t. The spider has an outer shell consisting of an elastic, inner layer and one right, outer layer. When it’s time to shed, the spider releases unique hormones that encourage molting.
3: Dogs
Shedding is critical to the animal’s fur and skin health. Many dog lovers live with the molting of their dogs. Most canines shed in the spring and autumn, dependent on environment, breed, and climate. Another factor is whether the dog has a single or double layer of fur.
2: Birds
Keratin is a substance located in hooves, horns, fingernails, claws, turtle shells, and porcupine quills. The outer layer of the skin is the epidermis. This same surface is composed of dead cells made of keratin. There is also keratin in feathers. The compound is critical for flying creatures to stay in the air.
1: Caterpillars
Caterpillars shed their exoskeletons four to five times during their growth stages. The insect outgrows its exoskeleton, expands its body, splits the outer layer, and crawls out. Now, the exoskeleton isn’t like atypical skin. It’s more like a fingernail, sliding off with the old skin peeling back from the front.
The shed process is important as the caterpillar increases its body mass up to 1,000 times. We refer to the stage between molts as an instar. During these periods, the caterpillar consumes tremendous amounts of food. Typically, the creature consumes up to 27,000 times its body weight throughout its life, most of that during molt stages.
#animalsshedskin #skinshedinganimals #animalsthatshedtheirskin
