212 THE VIVARIUM. 
nets for the purpose of catching the Reptile, whose fat they are 
reported to use for medicinal purposes, and its skin for boots and 
saddle-cloths. 
Representatives of the genus Hryzr, sometimes called Sand 
Snakes, are occasionally brought to England. They live 
fairly well in confinement, and are perfectly harmless, hardly 
ever attempting to bite. However, they are not so interesting as 
most Snakes, for being burrowers, more or less, they are apt to 
hide themselves beneath the gravel or sand which ought to cover 
the bottom of their case. They frequent, when at liberty, dry, 
sandy, or stony localities. They are very common in some parts 
of the North and Kast of Africa and the South and Centre of Asia. 
Their natural prey consists of other burrowing Snakes, Lizards, 
and Mice. In captivity they will readily feed upon young Mice 
and Rats. 
Roguish Snake-charmers frequently impose a mutilated Eryx, 
generally £. johni, as the dreaded two-headed Snake. The tail 
of the unfortunate Reptile is cut and flattened to represent a 
head. These rascals not only declare that the bite of the creature 
is instantaneously fatal, but also that the animal eats for six 
months with one mouth and for six months with the other. 
The Snakes of this genus have very short tails, which are not 
prehensile, or only slightly so. Their head is hardly distinct 
from the neck. Their eyes, which possess vertical pupils, are 
either small or very small, and in some species are placed en- 
tirely on the upper surface of the head. The scales are small or 
feebly keeled. . 
The Egyptian Eryx (Eryx jaculus) comes from the Ionian 
Islands, Greece, Central Asia, and North Africa. It is very 
common in the Holy Land. The colour of the Reptile, according 
to Mr. Boulenger, is ‘‘ pale greyish, reddish, or yellowish brown 
above, with dark brown or blackish transverse blotches or alter- 
nating spots; or brown with paler spots; a dark streak from the 
eye to the angle of the mouth; belly white, uniform or with 
blackish dots; a more or less distinct dark streak along each side 
of the tail.’ The end of the snout is wedge-shaped, and is thus 
adapted for the animal’s manner of life. The tail is very stout, 
about lin long in a full-grown specimen, and blunt at its 
