1902 Reptile Stttdies 19 



the ring snake. If caught or nearly caught, the harmless 

 species emits a most powerful and offensive odour, ap- 

 parently its sole means of defence. Very frequently the 

 presence of the snake is discovered by this odour before it 

 is actually seen. The few points we have now noted will 

 be sufficient for our present purpose of comparison of 

 natural conditions with artificial ones, so we will presume 

 that we have captured some specimens of both species, and 

 that we have them in separate cages under observation. 



Take the adder iirst. From the moment of capture this 

 reptile becomes a different animal. Utterly untamable, the 

 passive indifference is replaced by a most fiendish vindic- 

 tiveness. As a rule — though of course more marked in 

 some adders than in others — the mere approach of any 

 person to the cage is sufficient to cause an active display 

 of temper in the form of violent hissing and striking at 

 the glass. Even though the adder sees but one person, 

 toleration of the human presence is not established until 

 the reptile becomes enfeebled, and I have in a cage at 

 present an adder which has seen me several times a-day 

 for some weeks — and no one else — which still hisses and 

 strikes at me every time I approach. Thus while an adder 

 in nature is a comparatively harmless reptile from its 

 timidity, in captivity it is ever on the look-out to attack. 

 More striking still is the refusal of the adder to take any 

 food in captivity. The vast majority of adders in captivity 

 starve themselves to death, and personally I have never had 

 one that I could induce to feed. Mice, voles, and young 

 slow -worms have all been tried in vain ; sometimes the 

 adder will kill the food offered to it, but rarely will it feed. 

 It thus follows that adders are most uninteresting as well 

 as very dangerous animals to keep in vivaria, and I cannot 

 recommend them as pets to any one. 



The harmless ring snake takes to life in a vivarium very 

 soon, and is a delightful pet. After a week or so the 

 unpleasant odour entirely disappears, and very soon also 

 the great timidity exhibited in nature also vanishes. This 

 species will soon learn to eat out of its master's hand, 

 delights to take its bath in full view of the observer, and 

 can be taught to come from one end of the cage to the 



