288 THE VIVARIUM. 
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more than 4ft., of which the tail measures one-quarter. Though 
so long, it may be coiled up in the hollows of the hands. C. ornata 
is wonderfully quick in its movements. 
The Long-snouted Whip Snake (Passerita mycterizans) belongs 
to the family of Whip Snakes (Dryophide), thus named because 
the bodies are so exceedingly slender that they may be fairly 
likened to the cord of a whip. Some of them are very common in 
certain parts of the intertiopical regions of Asia, and of North and 
South America. They are generally of a brightish green colour, 
with two yellow stripes on the abdomen. As they are thoroughly 
Tree Snakes, their movements are far more active and graceful 
in the branches of trees than they are on the ground. They feed 
upon birds and lizards. The manner of taking their prey is 
rather interesting. Frequently, when they wish to seize a 
victim at some little distance, they coil their tail round a suitable 
bough and launch their body quickly forward, seizing as they do 
so the unfortunate bird or lizard in their widely-gaping jaws, the 
cleft of the mouth being enormous for such slender creatures. 
They have a tapering snout, which in some species is produced 
into a long, flexible appendage. The transversely-elongated 
pupil of the eye shows that they are animals of nocturnal habits. 
Some of the Whip Snakes attain a length of more than 7ft., of 
which the tail measures about one-third. 
P. mycterizans is famous for the length of its flexible snout. 
It has no loreal, but a large concavity in the region before the 
eye; smooth scales, which are long, narrow, and considerably 
imbricated, and placed in fifteen rows. It possesses a long tooth, 
located in the middle of the maxillary jaw, which is supposed to 
be useful in seizing birds by piercing the feathers. 
The Long-snouted Whip Snake should be kept im such 
a Vivarium as has been suggested for other Tree Snakes, and 
fed upon birds, lizards, and frogs. As it does not bathe, the 
receptacle for its water need not be large. This Snake is found 
in Southern India and in Ceylon. It sometimes grows to a length 
of more than .6ft.; of which the tail measures one-third. Old 
specimens are generally very ready to bite. It is interesting to 
see them open their wouderful mouths as they attempt to do 
so. Dr. Giinther, in speaking of this Snake, says: ‘‘ Examples 
