HABITS OF A SMALL SNAKE IN CAPTIVITY. 555 



day, as a rule, the bottles in wliicli it lived were put aside on a shelf 

 in a warm part of my work-room, and were never opened. But, with 

 only an occasional exception, the creature was let out for a short time 

 every evening. In the morning it generally kept itself concealed 

 amongst the grass ; but regularly, night after night, I foiind it close 

 to the united necks of the bottles, and often lying indeed partly 

 within the perforated cork, ready to dart out as soon as the bottles 

 were taken apart. This was, I think, too constantly repeated to be 

 the effect of mere accident. 



My chief object in keeping this little snake was to see it cast its 

 skin ; but as the creature continued active throughout the entire 

 winter, and took, apparently, no food, I began at last to fear that in 

 this respect I should be disappointed. Finally, however, when nearly 

 seven months had elapsed from the date of the animal's capture, my 

 wish was gratified. The mode by which the operation of getting 

 rid of the old skin was effected, differed in one essential respect from 

 that described by Professor Owen in his very elaborate work on the 

 " Anatomy of the Vertebrates." In this work (vol. i., p. 553), the 

 process is thus described : 



" In serpents, the epiderm is shed, usually entire, and the animal, 

 partially blindfolded by the opacity of the layer passing over the 

 cornea, seeks an obscure retreat ; but I have watched the process of 

 exuviation in a captive snake. It rubs the front and sides of the 

 mouth againt its prison wall, thus detaching and reflecting the cuticle 

 from the oral margin, until it is turned back from over the whole 

 head : the snake then brings forward its tail and coils it transversely ^ 

 round the head, and by pushing the head through the coil turns the 

 cuticle back upon the neck ; then tightening the coil and renewing 

 the forward movement, threading the body, as it were, through the 

 caudal ring, the cuticle is pushed further and further back, until the 

 e version has been carried so near the end of the tail as prevents the 

 further action of the coil ; the animal finally glides along, dragging 

 behind the whole of the loosened epiderm, and a few wriggling 

 actions of the tail serve to completely detach it." 



In my captive's case, the operation was somewhat less artistically 

 performed. Shortly before the close of Aj)ril, I noticed that the 

 animal appeared to be sickening, and seemed disinclined to come out 

 of the grass. A day or two after, I observed a ridge of diy skin 

 raised around the margin of the snout ; and in the course of a few 



