SNAKES. 189 
unless it be a pleasure to him to stroke the one and pat the other. 
So Snakes (at any rate to me) are far more interesting when they 
will suffer themselves to be handled with impunity and show some 
affection for their owner, than when they can only be seen while 
confined in their cases. 
To keep these Snakes, then, imexpensively, they should be 
procured when they are about 4ft. long, or, if possible, even 
shorter than this. As a rule, Pythons and Boas are priced ac- 
cording to their length, and the smaller they are the less they 
cost. 
The following are brief and, I hope, clear descriptions of 
cheaply-constructed cases suitable for such Snakes as those just 
mentioned. As all these Reptiles, while in this country, must be 
kept under the influence of artificial heat throughout the year, it 
is therefore necessary that the cases should be so made that the 
required warmth can be easily supplied. 
A large well-made packing-case can be transformed into a 
Vivarium suitable for a young Boa or Python or two. The box 
should not be less than 4ft. long, 3ft. deep, and 23ft. wide. 
Take the lid off the box and place the latter on one of its sides. 
In the centre of that side which has been chosen to act as the 
bottom of the Vivarium, cut an oblong hole about 2ft. long and 
18in. wide, the longer sides running lengthwise with the box. 
On the outside of the box, covering this hole by about 2in. on all 
sides, screw a piece of thin sheet-iron. Around the inside of the 
box, nail or screw strong strips of wood 4in. from the bottom. 
Then cut a piece of finely-perforated zinc the exact width and 
length of the interior of the case, and nail it very tightly on to 
the tops of the pieces of wood just referred to, thus forming a 
kind of false bottom. A small paraffin lamp placed under the 
centre of the sheet-iron will cause heat to arise through the 
perforated zinc, and so sufticiently warm the interior of the case. 
The case may be raised upon four legs of a convenient height, and 
between them can be hung a small platform upon which to stand 
the lamp. A sheet of stout plate-glass should be let into the 
front of the case, covering the whole of the front, and reaching 
down as far as the perforated zinc. Beneath the glass front a 
long strip of wood, 4in. wide and as long as the case, ought to be 
