The Beaded Lizards 



to be handled in the most unceremonious manner without dis- 

 playing a trace of bad temper. 



A wild Gila Monster is a really formidable creature, if human 

 arm or limb be within reach of its powerful jaws. The reptile's 

 sudden twists as it snaps from side to side are wonderfully agile 

 and difficult to avoid. During such demonstrations it gives 

 voice to sharp hisses and opens its jaws widely, disclosing the 

 black mouth-parts. Unfortunate indeed is the unwary one 

 seized in those fang-studded jaws, for the lizard retains its hold 

 with a tenacity rivalling a bulldog. The jaws must be actually 

 pried or torn apart in order to free the object grasped, but to 

 do this is beyond the power of the unaided fingers. If the head 

 of the reptile be severed from the body, the vise-like grip remains 

 the same. It is when the jaws are thus engaged and the fangs 

 of the lower are imbedded that the poisonous saliva flows from 

 the swollen glands of the chin, fills the grooves of the venom- 

 conducting teeth and is absorbed into the wounds caused by 

 them. The writer remembers an experience with four freshly 

 captured specimens that were snapping and hissing, when a stout 

 strap was placed within reach of one of them. The strap was 

 seized quickly, when another portion of its length was placed 

 in front of a second specimen, which also took hold. This was 

 continued until all four lizards had grasped the strap when it 

 was suspended from a hook in the wall, the pugnacious creatures 

 hanging by their jaws for ten minutes or more, when they dropped 

 off, one after another. Subsequently, one of these same lizards 

 seized a large rat snake (Coluber obsoleiiis lindheimeri), by the 

 middle of the body. The snake writhed and coiled about its 

 adversary in its efforts to escape, but these struggles appeared 

 to infuriate the lizard, which retained its hold until the serpent 

 was all but dead. The snake died a few hours after, either from 

 the effects of the lizard's poison, or from internal injuries pro- 

 duced by the powerful jaws of its adversary — possibly a com- 

 bination of both. 



The four specimens described became very tame after a 

 few weeks in captivity — a condition observed with most spec- 

 imens. If approached suddenly and thus startled, they would 

 quickly raise their heads and turn to ascertain the condition 

 of affairs. They seemingly enjoyed the process of having their 

 backs scratched and would lie motionless while this attention 



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