REPTILES 145 



Sub-order : OPHIDIA Snakes. 



There are only three species of snakes to be found in Great Britain ; of 

 these one alone is venomous, and one is very rare and local. None of them 

 is found in Ireland. 



1. The Grass Snake (Tropidonotus natrix) also called the COMMON or 

 RINGED SNAKE is the commonest. This is perfectly harmless, yet I fear 

 that in most cases where it is found it is at once killed as if it were dangerous. 

 The only offensive power it possesses is that of exuding an abominable smell 

 when first approached or handled ; but this is fortunately soon exhausted, 

 and the reptile soon gets accustomed to being handled. Perhaps a personal 

 illustration may be permitted here. Some years ago one of my neighbours 

 rushed into my house with the alarming story that a large snake was hiding 

 in one of his trees, and that he was afraid it would attack his children. I 

 went up to his garden to find that it was a splendid specimen of the Grass 

 Snake, a female, which had climbed into a tree, apparently after birds' eggs. 

 I had no difficulty in picking it up, but it emitted the most offensive odour, 

 which clung to my hands for a long time in spite of washing. I placed it in 

 my vivarium, and within an hour or two it would allow any one to handle it 

 without making itself a nuisance. 



There can be no mistake about this species, for it has a yellow patch on 

 the side of the head, and dark markings on the side of the body, and is gener- 

 ally of a greyish olive-green colour. It varies in length, up to about 3 feet. 

 It feeds on frogs, newts, mice, small birds, and birds' eggs, all of which are 

 swallowed whole. As already pointed out, the jaw can be " disjointed " so 

 as to open extraordinarily wide, and the neck is like a rubber tube capable 

 of a remarkable enlargement. 



Occasionally this snake may be seen swimming. This is a strange sight, 

 as the creature swims with its head and neck well out of the water, the rest 

 of the body being submerged. It lays a number of eggs fifteen to twenty 

 white, oval bodies about the size of a blackbird's egg. They have a soft 

 parchment-like skin, and are often laid in a dunghill or a heap of rotting 

 vegetation, where the warmth helps to hatch the young. 



2. The Adder, or VIPER (Pelias berus), is our one poisonous snake, gener- 

 ally smaller than the former, and altogether differently marked. It has a 

 dark zigzag pattern down the back, and a V-shaped mark on the head. In 

 spite of common opinion, the forked tongue often seen flickering from the 

 mouth is not its " sting." But if a dead specimen is examined, two long 

 curved teeth will be seen in the upper jaw, which are movable. These are its 

 fangs. Each is in reality a hollow needle connected with a gland behind, 

 which contains the venom. The Viper when about to attack raises its head 

 and strikes its victim, making two small punctures, and thus injecting the 

 poison. 



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