ON THE "GILA MONSTER." 63 



regular proceeding : every morning about nine o'clock the 

 fellow climbed up in the corner of his box whence he was 

 lifted over into the sunshine to take a nap until Ihe shad- 

 ows came upon him, then he would climb iu the corner 

 again till returned to the larger box to take his favorite 

 position in his den for a while. To forget or neglect him 

 was out of the question ; his scratching would not permit it. 



The number of eggs charged to him does not average 

 more than one per week ; the other food given him amount- 

 ed to very little. 



In the latter part of July he began to slough. The ep- 

 iderm came off in a very ragged way, in shreds and 

 patches. There seemed to be no effort to hasten the proc- 

 ess and a month later it was not entirely finished. Think- 

 ing to hurry the matter, in case all had not gone along 

 in the normal way, a bath tub was furnished with water 

 sufficient to completely cover him. At once he showed a 

 fondness for lying in the water with his snout sticking out ; 

 this was varied by lying on the bank with his tail sticking 

 in, a position which he apparently found to be very de- 

 lightful. 



Heloderma was really good-natured. To be sure he 

 was easily worried into self-defence, but there was nothing 

 vicious in his disposition. To scratch him on the sides, 

 or rub the knobbed scales of his back, or, more readily 

 than either, to blow in his face would make him open his 

 mouth, for which he was not much to be blamed, but even 

 then something had to be put between his teeth to get him 

 to bite, he had so little desire to take hold of his tor- 

 mentor. 



His thirst required more attention than his hunger ; he 

 drank frequently and always with great deliberation. To 

 tempt his appetite various things, such as insects, worms, 

 young birds, mice, meats and cooked foods were put be- 



