THE LIZARDS 159 



blinking eyes and well-formed ear-openings, seems in- 

 congruous when compared with the limbless body. In 

 its locomotion the animal is stiff and ungraceful, utterly 

 unlike the sinuous movements of a snake. When a 

 Glass "Snake" is handled it really appears to creak in 

 the tight-fitting, bony armor; if grasped by the tail it 

 disengages that organ with a single twist, no blood 

 attending the shedding of an organ that thrashes in 

 livelier fashion than when attached to the original pos- 

 sessor. It is almost needless to say that the story of 

 the Glass "Snake" hunting up the discarded tail, or 

 vice versa, with a view of patching up matters, is purely 

 fallacious. 



Captive Glass "Snakes" are intelligent reptiles, be- 

 coming keen observers of one's movements. They will 

 advance from a far corner of their cage and take food 

 from the hand, evincing a studied care not to bite the 

 fingers holding the morsel. The bright yellow eyes not 

 only seem sharp and cunning; they are actually keen 

 of vision. The writer feeds his specimens small pieces 

 of raw beef stirred in well-beaten egg. This, varied 

 with a diet of meal worms, keeps them flourishing for 

 years. They will break the eggs of small birds — even 

 those as large as a pigeon, then lap up the contents with 

 their flat, nicked tongues. Their jaws are powerful and 

 they do not hesitate to attack small mammals like mice 

 and young rats, giving the prey a few vigorous shakes, 

 biting hard at the same time. The prey is swallowed 

 practically entire, in an awkward, gulping fashion. 



The American Glass "Snake," O. ventralis, while 

 a considerably smaller animal than its European ally, is 

 a much prettier species. It more properly deserves the 

 title of glass snake. Not only is the tail more brittle; 

 the scales of the body and tail have a highly polished 



