The Dexterous Lizards

There are about 3, 000 species and subspecies of lizards, and though they differ in many ways, they have one habit in common – all shed their skins. Adults molt once every month or so, during the months in which they are active, and unlike snakes, most do not shuffle off their epidermis in one piece, but in patches or even a scale at a time. The banded gecko below rips off its old skin with its mouth and swallows the strips. And to peel its feet, it yanks at each digit as though removing a tight glove.