FOOD OF REPTILES GO 



to feed upon the leaves of water plants and other vegetable 

 matter. It is not till towards the end of the tad[)()le stage that 

 it becomes weaned and adopts an animal diet. The change 

 from the herbivorous diet of the tadpole to the carnivorous 

 one of the young frog is accompanied by a remarkalilc 

 shortening of the intestine. The length in the tadpole before 

 metamorphosis is about 8-10 mms., that of the frog just 

 metamorphosed is about 3-4 mms. As a rule an animal diet 

 is more easily digested than a vegetable one, and the ah- 

 mentary canal can be correspondingly shortened. 



Of the four groups of rej)tilia, two are entirely carnivorous 

 and two eat both plants and animals. Crocodiles and alli- 

 gators are confined to the tropical or sub-tropical regions of 

 our globe, and are almost exclusively fresh- water. They live 

 entirely on flesh and in one order solely on fish; but most are, 

 within their limits, catholic in their tastes, and eat any 

 animal that comes in their way. They are not capable of 

 swallowing large animals whole, and hence they have to 

 mangle the body, tearing off bits by a series of sudden jerks. 



Tortoises and turtles are found in the sea, in fresh water, 

 and on land, chiefly in the warmer parts of the world. Some 

 are herbivorous, such as the common tortoise one sees sold 

 in the streets of our towns, and the gigantic land tortoises 

 one sees in the Zoological Gardens. They feed on fallen fruit, 

 leaves, or grass. Being of a placid disposition and almost 

 devoid of emotions or passions they manage to get along on 

 a meagre diet of a very unstimulating nature, and so live to 

 an immense age. The mud-turtles are carnivorous, living on 

 worms, insects, small fish, and even newts. The snapper- 

 turtles, which are comparatively active and are capable of 

 inflicting severe wounds on people who have invaded their 

 waters, are more active than most of the group and enjoy a 

 more heating diet. They will eat fishes, frogs, ahd water 

 mammals, and seize and drown ducks and geese. The green- 

 turtle so beloved of epicures feeds on seaweed growing among 

 the sea-wi-ack which is found at the bottom of the ocean. 

 Loggep-headed-turtles live on cuttlefish and other molluscs, 

 the shells of which their strong jaws crush with the greatest 

 ease. The leathery-turtle, the largest of all its group, is 



