The body surface of snakes is one of the most interesting biological surfaces with fascinating functions. Being limbless snakes use their entire body not only for locomotion, but also for catching prey, reproduction, camouflage. This means that the body surface of snakes has to endure constant exposure to frictional forces which usually lead to abrasion. Snakes are masters of adaptation and, in order to survive over 150 Million years in a vast spectrum of ecosystems, have developed a great deal of optimizations for sliding locomotion. In order to grasp how snakes cope with the problem of abrasion and to see if there is a habitat specialization, a comparative analysis of four different snake species specialized to different habitats (Lampropeltis getula californiae (terrestrial), Epicrates cenchria cenchria (all-rounder), Morelia viridis (arboreal), and Gongylophis colubrinus (sand burrowing)) was conducted. Since little was known about abrasion properties of the snake skin, scanning electron microscopy, scratch tests and nanoindentation measurements were conducted to understand abrasion resistance of this biologal material.