THE SMOOTH SNAKE. 61 



desire for food; at the same time the prisoner 

 makes numerous attempts to escape, and is alto- 

 gether restless and excited, though at other 

 times it lies quietly in a corner of its cage/' After 

 alluding to the fact that it is of rare occurrence 

 for any one to observe the Coronella taking its 

 food, Dr. Opel gives an interesting account of a 

 contest between one of his snakes and a Slow- 

 worm (Anguis fragilis) . 



In the year 1857 I was in possession of such a number 

 of snakes of various species that I was obliged to place my 

 Coronella in the same cage with a Blindworm, which had 

 been there for some time already. The two appeared to be 

 good friends, and took no particular notice of each other. 

 Both passed into their winter sleep as the cold came on ; 

 and, with the return of spring, again woke up and shared 

 the cage in peace, coiled up together on the side where the 

 sun's rays struck warmest. The Blindworm ate freely of 

 the earthworms offered to it, though all attempts failed to 

 induce the Coronella to take any food. Small lizards placed 

 near it were allowed to crawl away without notice, and even 

 young mice were disregarded. One morning (May 9) I ob- 

 served a great commotion in the cage. At this time the 

 Coronella had not cast its skin, nor had it eaten anything 

 for nearly nine months. The Blindworm was striving to 

 escape the fixed gaze of its companion, which was following 

 it all over their prison. I placed some fresh water in the 

 cage, and just at that instant the snake threw itself with 

 irresistible force upon the Blindworm, fixed its teeth into 

 its head, and flinging fold after fold of its body round its 

 victim, held it in a vice-like grip, exactly after the manner 

 of the giant serpents of the tropics. So tightly, indeed, 

 did it embrace the unhappy Blindworm, that the contents 



