5^ 



and if the cases can be kept out of doors, but shel- 

 tered from the rain, so much the better. 



Although fond of warmth, snakes do not care 

 for the full glare from a hot sun, and a portion of 

 their cages must be shaded, so that they can 

 protect their eyes, which are lidless. 



Water is necessary, for, though a snake eats 

 seldom, it drinks deeply, and takes to the water 

 often in the hot weather. 



Skin-shedding occurs about once a month, or 



every six weeks (according to the amount of rubbing 



that the epidermis receives). The process is 



interesting. 



Skin About two wccks before shedding its skin the 



Shedding, ^y^^ q£ ^^le suakc become dull and opaque, the 



serpent being almost blind. It remains quiet in 

 the corner of its cage, and refuses food. The skin 

 now loosens on the tail, and afterwards about the 

 jaws and head, finally coming off inside out and 

 rolled up in a ring, complete even to the thin 

 transparent substance that covers the eye. The 

 loosening of the epidermis is due to the formation 

 of minute hair on the skin underneath. 



After skin-shedding it is advisable to bathe 

 the snake, or spray it with water, as the new skin is 

 slightly sticky. The shed skin should be removed 

 from the case, as, should it get damp, insects and 

 tics will appear. 



The tics bite through the epidermis, and 



fastening on the skin below, make it very difficult 



for the snake to cast its skin when the time comes 



for it to do so. A snake thus afflicted should be 



on Snakes, rubbcd with cocoauut oil and placed in the sun. 



If the snakes are kept indoors the trouble from 

 tics will be obviated. At the same time it is 

 advisable to place the cages for a short time in the 

 sun, after a long spell of wet weather, in order that 

 the reptiles may renew their supply of electricity 



