Reptiles, like fish, can be both skin mounted in the traditional way or moulded in silicone rubber and a fibreglass (GRP) cast produced. With regard to snakes in particular a cast can often be the recommended option. This is mainly due to the fact that when a snake is skin mounted there can be considerable shrinkage of the individual scales covering the snake leaving the skin with a slightly shrivelled look to it when observed close-up. It can also be more cost effective to cast a snake as it is cheaper than a skin mount and often the results are better. That said a skin mount can be done it just takes longer to get a good result and therefore is more expensive. In either option the snake must be completely re-painted to reproduce the subtle colour tone and markings.