Molted Snakeskin

Description:

I spotted this molted snakeskin when I accidentally stepped on it in our front terrace yesterday afternoon. As the photo shows, the skin is broken into two pieces. I'm sure I caused this damage when I stood on it. I could not find the snake which shed the skin, despite a lengthy search. I don't have the expertise required to identify the species of snake, but you can see that it was quite small. The tiles on the floor are 16 inches square. So, the snakeskin must be close to 18 or 20 inches, when straightened out. According to Wikipedia, the skin is about twice the length of the snake which shed it.

Habitat:

This molted snakeskin was spotted on the floor of our front terrace. There is no way of knowing exactly how it got there, but I suspect that it came in from our backyard either by dropping inside our wall from an overhanging tree or by entering via the storm drain which exits from our garden to the backyard.

Notes:

I knew next to nothing about the shedding of skin by snakes until I read the Wikipedia article, cited as a reference for this spotting. I would recommend sparing a moment to read it as it is one of the best Wiki articles I have ever read. It is just full of really interesting stuff and all of it is beautifully explained and easy to understand.