ITEMS OF SNAKE KNOWLEDGE. 465 
They frequently injure themselves through striking their heads against 
the glass of the cage, when lunging at spectators. 
Snakes do not thrive in captivity, unless their places of confinement 
are more or less similar to their native haunts. 
Snakes do not grow a new tail, if theirs should be accidentally cut off. 
Most lizards, on the contrary, grow new tails. 
Pythons in captivity can be kept alive by feeding them once a week on 
lumps of beef. The beef must be forcibly pushed down the throat of the 
reptile with a smooth rounded stick. It can then be easily worked down 
to the stomach with the fingers. 
To prevent the Python disgorging the meat, tie a ligature between the 
meat and the mouth. Keep it on for about half a day. Don’t tie it too 
tightly. 
Fic. 157.—A yellow variety of Cape Cobra 6 feet 3 inches in length, in the act of expanding 
its hood and rearing the anterior part of its body. 
Pythons in captivity become very sluggish and allow themselves to be 
handled without any protest, beyond an occasional hiss. 
Pythons have been known to fast for at least two years. 
Many of the native tribes of South Africa will devour the flesh of the 
Python whenever opportunity offers. The flesh is tender, and has a nice 
flavour when grilled. 
The Aglypha snakes are those whose teeth are solid, without any trace 
of grooving. They are all harmless. 
Mole snakes vary in coloration more than any other species of South 
African snake. 
The Dasypeltis snake, or Eier Vreter, is the only snake in the world 
which has a special apparatus in its backbone for sawing the shells of eggs. 
This consists of a long row of bony processes tipped with enamel, jutting 
into the gullet in the neck region, 
Py Sel 
