TREATMENT OF SNAKES IN CAPTIVITY. 287 



quite characteristic of its presence. Overcrowding and in- 

 judicious feeding are sure to give rise to impurity. Serpents 

 which live on frogs and fish are worse, as a rule, than those 

 which prefer birds and small animals, while those that eat lizards 

 are generally destitute of offence. 



Fine smooth gravel is the best material for covering the floor, 

 just so large that it shall be too heavy to adhere to the linger 

 (or snakes' bodies) when wetted. Sand sticks to them as they 

 come out of their bath; earth is converted into mud and 

 smudged over the glass, woodwork, or, worse still, the canvas ; 

 moss hides them altogether, gets pushed about in unsightly 

 heaps, and is carried into the water to rot; turf combines all 

 these disadvantages with the additional one of allowing the 

 snakes to burrow below it; while bare boards or pavement always 

 look dabbled, stained and dirty. Blankets or rugs should only 

 be put in when it is desired to cover the reptiles, not for them to 

 lie upon, as they will invariably get underneath. The depth 

 of gravel must depend upon the size of the serpents ; they will 

 all plough it up with their heads, and the layer ought to be thick 

 enough to prevent the floor from being exposed by their so doing. 

 Snakes, again, which are about to deposit eggs, seem always to 

 have an instinct of burying them, and will sometimes refuse to lay 

 them if they cannot first excavate a hollow of some sort for the 

 purpose. Many valuable specimens which have died in captivity 

 and whose condition has not been recognised until after death, 

 are supposed to have been killed by the retention of their ova, in 

 consequence of their not finding a fit place for deposition. A 

 magnificent West African Python, which suddenly expired in the 

 midst of health at the Clifton Gardens in 1857, and whose body 

 was examined by Mr. Flower, articulator to the Koyal College 

 of Surgeons, Mr. Frank Buckland and others, may be quoted as 

 an example. A proper depth of gravel will therefore tend to 

 obviate such a calamity, though, if the state of affairs be per- 

 ceived, the parturient snake had better be isolated and special 

 treatment pursued. A double quantity of gravel should be 

 provided, so that half may be thoroughly washed and dried while 

 the rest is in the cage ; in this way the layer may be changed 

 frequently without inconvenience. Damp or dusty gravel ought 

 never to be put in. The stones must not come into contact with 

 glass or canvas, which should be protected by a ledge in such a 



