40 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
Cane Rats, Hares, and Dassies, as well as the smaller antelopes and 
the larger birds. 
Each species of snake has its own favourite food. The Puff 
Adder and Cobra prefer toads, rats, mice, and lizards ; Water 
Snakes like fish and frogs; Tree Snakes prefer birds, birds’ eggs and 
their young, chameleons and other tree lizards. Ringhals are 
partial to toads; Schaapstekers to lizards; House Snakes to 
young rats and mice; Egg-eating Snakes to fresh eggs; Mole 
Snakes like rats and moles. 
Snakes, in the wild state, probably never eat any creature 
which they might find already dead. They hunt living prey. 
In captivity they can occasionally be induced to eat dead animals 
and reptiles, but not often. After the snake has become fairly 
tame and used to its surroundings, it will sometimes seize and 
swallow a dead creature which is dangled in front of its nose, or 
gently laid there. Sometimes we suspend the dead bodies of 
birds, rats, mice, frogs, or toads, by a fine silken thread from the 
top of the snake-cage. The slightest vibration causes the bodies 
to twist and turn. In this way the snakes are deceived into the 
belief that the creatures are alive, whereupon they seize and 
devour them. Snakes can easily be tamed and taught to take 
food from the fingers. Several of the live snakes at the Port 
Elizabeth Museum are fed by an assistant in this manner. A 
friend of mine had a tame Boomslang which took chameleons 
and frogs from his fingers. It was so tame that he allowed it 
out of its cage. It delighted to explore the room. If a stranger 
entered, or there happened to be any other cause for alarm, it 
instantly sought refuge in its cage. When my friend held a 
chameleon up in front of the cage, the Boomslang would work 
itself up into a tremendous state of excitement. When the 
door was opened, it darted out like a flash, threw a coil or two 
of its tail round my friend’s neck and arm, and gently took 
the chameleon into its mouth and proceeded forthwith to 
swallow it. 
In those days we considered Boomslangs to be practically 
harmless, and in consequence handled them freely. However, 
our safety lay in our habit of always being gentle in handling 
snakes. It is the only way to tame them. Even the sluggish 
and surly Puff Adder can be tamed by frequent handling, but I 
always prefer to remove his supply of poison fangs, of which he 
