What is a reptile?
We know that birds have feathers, mammals have hair, people have skin, and reptiles have scales, but really what are the differences between reptiles and other animals and us?
The first thing you might notice about reptiles is that they have...
Scales!
Reptile scales and your fingernails are the same thing! They are both made out of a protein called keratin.
(Not carrots!)
Shedding!
Snakes shed their skin in one big piece. You shed your skin in tiny little pieces.
Experiment:
If you would like to see how this works, scratch a line up your arm with your fingernail. Do you see a white line of powder left behind? That is your skin coming off. Ew! You are shedding, gross!
Do you see the ball python shedding to the right?
If you look closely, you can see the head on the snake skin.
