58 



Newly- A newly-caught snake will often injure its nose 



Snakes. ^y Striking at you, and banging the latter against 

 the side of its cage. This is not a serious matter, 

 but should the wound become bad, Condy's fluid 

 may be added to the drinking water. Condy's 

 fluid is preferable to carbolic acid, as the latter is 

 poisonous if taken internally in any quantity. 



Small snakes should not be placed in the 

 same cage with large ones, as the latter sometimes 

 show a tendency to cannibalism. Snakes of the 

 same kind may be kept together, if they are about 

 the same size, and pythons may always be kept 

 together, as they only eat mammals and birds, but 

 care should be taken at feeding time to see that 

 they do not both seize the same rat, and accidently 

 swallow each other, as is described further on in 

 this chapter. 

 Nervous Ncrvous snakes should be kept separate, as 



Snakes. when a snake becomes frightened in any way 

 it will often, in panic, strike at the nearest moving 

 object. Two nervous snakes may thus attack 

 each other, through no feeling of enmity, but 

 through fear occasioned by the sight of a human 

 being, and a desire to strike wildly and blindly at 

 whatever is nearest them. 



It is advisable to keep wild and tame snakes- 

 together as long as a few of them are quiet, any 

 others that have been newly caught will soon 

 become tame. 



The best way of lifting untamed snakes is by 

 holding the tail and supporting the body across a 

 stick. 

 Keeping Although few people are aware of the fact, 



y^ °^^' young pythons make very good pets. Those 

 unacquainted with snakes are apt to attribute to a 

 young python of some six or seven feet long all the 

 terrifying characteristics of a '' Giant Anaconda," 

 some thirty-five or thirty-six feet in length. Some 



