Humans shed skin cells all of the time—according to one source, in one year, each of us sheds more than 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of dead skin. Snakes have an entirely different shedding process. Several times a year they grow a complete new layer of skin underneath the old layer. During shedding, snakes secrete a fluid to help separate the old skin from the new, and this fluid runs under their specialized eye caps, resulting in the opaque or blue quality of the eye.
Last Friday I encountered one of these blue-eyed snakes while exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Snakes are vulnerable during this stage when their vision is impaired and I was a little surprised to see this snake was in a fairly open area. I think this may be an Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis), but did not examine the snake at length for fear of disturbing it.
Moving as stealthily as I could, I leaned in with my macro lens to capture this image. If you look carefully into the eye (or double-click on the image to enlarge it) you will see that I managed to capture a “selfie” reflection.
As an interesting coincidence, my most viewed posting of 2020 has been a May 2016 posting that also featured a snake with a blue eye. That posting, entitled Blue-eyed garter snake, has had 597 views so far this year. If you are not totally creeped out by today’s photo, you might want to check out the 2016 posting, which has some full body shots as well as a close-up shot of the snake’s head.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
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OH MY, that eye!!
Not matter if you find it cool or creepy, the snake’s eye tends to mesmerize viewers.
WOW! I would’ve shed more than my skin taking this pic 😏! Great capture Mike!
I made a slow, cautious approach to take the shot and then left the snake in peace. In many situations, I have found that if I avoid abrupt movements, my subjects are more likely to judge that I am not a threat and will let me get a little closer.
Wonderful capture of the blue of that eye and the rough texture on the snake’s scales.
I thought of you the other day as I was out on my daily walk and, in some longer grass, accidentally stepped on a snake. Hopefully it was not injured as it rapidly slithered off. It was all way too fast for me to identify it (which is why I thought of you) but I am hoping it was an Eastern Milksnake and not a Copperhead.
Thanks, Laura. I know well that you are not freaked out by my photos of snakes. During my one encounter with a Copperhead, I came within a few feet of stepping on one when I had climbed over the trunk of a fallen tree. They are not common where I live, but I try to watch out for them when I am in certain areas. I have been startled multiple times by snakes slithering away right in front of me that I had not seen.
I wasn’t worried for me, just for the poor snake.
Great capture and very interesting about the process, Mike.
Thanks, Ellen. I often wonder about the natural process that are happening when we are not out observing the wld creatures. No matter how often we are able to go out with our cameras, we see only a small fraction of the circle of life.
You’re welcome! I wonder that, too, and often what we can imagine is no where near reality–like that eye!
Interesting how you can see the beginning of the peeling process. Fascinating!
How interesting about the blue eye! I also like the snake’s position, tucked into itself, as though shy about being photographed, as well as the detail of its skin.
The reflection of the you in the snake’s blue eye: a true “I see you” moment! 🙂
Thanks,Rebecca . I suspect that the snake was curled up out of a concern for safety as well as for shyness. I love how well my macro lens is able to capture details and it is cool to be able to all of the patterns, shapes, and colors that we tend to miss when looking from a distance.
The process is amazing. Great catch.
Wonderful shot.
Nice shot! Looks like that one has had some skin and shedding issues already. It retained some skin from the last shed. Could be some sort of fungal issue. Hopefully it will shed it all off well this next shed for which it is “blue”. Hard to tell from that angle and close up but it does look like a Ratsnake or Racer. William
Thanks, William. You obviously looked pretty closely at the details of this snake. One of my Facebook friends opined that this is probably a Black Racer, but at this stage it is a little hard to tell. I really like the metaphor of changing from the inside, a theme that is often put forward often in my church.
I love the selfie in the eye!