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ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOX SNAKE. (CGIAMiKK 

 Specimen immediately after birth. 



BREEDING^CAPTIVE SNAKES. 



ASIDE from the fact that the Reptile House is 

 a place for the instruction and interest of its 

 many visitors, the work of obtaining for 

 exhibition, labelling and caring for the collection is 

 but a portion of the routine of the Reptile Depart- 

 ment. Scientific observations are at all times being 

 noted in detail. Investigations regarding the most 

 suitable food, the breeding of reptiles, their growth, 

 the toxic powers of certain snakes and the diseases 

 to which the inmates of the collection are susceptible 

 constitute part of the Curator's labors, for the 

 gradual rated accumulation of such researches will 

 furnish valuable material for our future lectures 

 and publications. One of the most interesting 

 phases of this scientific work is the breeding of 

 captive reptiles. A few preliminary remarks in the 

 Bulletin upon this subject may not be amiss. As 

 among all captive reptiles, the serpents breed most 

 readily, a brief resume of the investigations thus far 

 conducted may appropriately be confined to the 

 Ophidia. The results up to date have exploded 

 numerous theoretical assertions and cleared a 

 number of problems, previously without an answer 

 of any kind. 



As an example of what has been done in the 

 Reptile Department it might be explained that 

 among poisonous snakes giving birth to living young, 

 numerous broods of six species of rattlesnakes have 

 been born in the building, while among the other 

 Pit Vipers young have been born from the Fer-de- 

 Lance {Lachesis alrox), the Copperhead Snake 

 {Ancistrodon contortrix) and the Water Moccasin 

 (.4 . piscivorus) ; of the latter species, three genera- 

 tions are living in the Reptile House, the original 

 pair — now eleven years in captivity — being a part 

 of the writer's private collection that was installed 

 in the Park shortly before the opening to visitors 

 in 1899. Incidentally this record indicates the 

 longevity of the Moccasin, the most hardy and the 

 most deadly of North American snakes. To- 

 gether with notes concerning the Pit Vipers {Cro- 

 talincE), it is possible to make the remarkable state- 



ment, through the courtesy of !Mr. R. R. Mole, of 

 Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, that the terrible Surocucu, 

 or Bushmaster {Lachesis iniilus) — the largest of all 

 viperine snakes — belies the term of a true viper, as 

 it actually deposits tough-shelled eggs, which ap- 

 ]3arently take a considerable time to hatch. As far 

 as we know, the species is thus unique among all 

 the members of the Viperidcc. 



The largest brood from any of our rattlesnakes 

 consisted of twelve young. As a rule the North 

 x\merican rattlesnakes have a smaller number of 

 young, seven to nine. This same rule applies to 

 the North American Copperhead and Water 

 ]Moccasin, although one brood of fourteen young 

 from the latter species was noted. The South 

 American Lance-Head Vipers {Lachesis laiiceolatus, 

 L. atrox, and L. pictus) have uniformly given birth 

 to larger litters, twent\' to twenty-four. With the 

 exception of the rattlesnakes, the young of all the 

 serpents mentioned have the tip of the tail tinged 

 with vivid sulphur-yellow. At times they wiggle 

 this member convulsively, when it looks much like 

 a lively maggot. My friend Mr. Mole suggests 

 that as the body-colors of the little reptiles harmo- 

 nize most admirably with their surroundings, while 

 the yellow tail is in striking contrast, the young 

 reptiles employ this as a bait to attract frogs and 

 small lizards, their principal food. During the 

 latter part of their first year the rapidly growing 

 snakes lose the decorative caudal hue except, 

 peculiar to state, with a phase of the Copperhead 

 Snake inhabiting Te.xas; with this wide-banded 

 form the character is invariably persistent; further 

 investigation may warrant the definition of a 

 subspecies. 



.Among the Colubrine poisonous snakes, while 

 observations have been restricted as to species, they 

 have been of more decided importance. It has 

 lieen demonstrated, despite the general assertion 

 to the contrary, that the Indian Cobra {Naja 

 tripiidians) is an egg-la}'ing — oviparous — snake. 

 Not only have our cobras bred and deposited their 

 eggs, but we have also succeeded in incubating the 

 eggs b\- placing them in a medium composed of 



