352 



ORDERS OF REPTILES— SERPENTS 



and Deaf " Adder." It is decidedly poisonous, 

 and its venom is second in virulence only to that 

 of the rattlesnake. 



MASSASAUGA. 



In captivity, the food of this species consists of 

 small mammals, young birds and frogs. It brings 

 forth its young alive, and the usual number is 

 between seven and nine. 



The Water-Moccasin, or Cotton-Mouth, 1 

 is the ugliest snake in North America. Its body 

 is about as lithe and graceful as a Bologna sau- 

 sage, and its skin resembles the surface of sun- 

 cracked mud. It is so ugly that stuffing it with 

 tow does not make it look any worse. It has a 

 piggish appetite for fish, but if no fish or frogs 

 are handy, it eats other snakes. It is quite as 

 ready to bite a friend as an enemy, and when 

 Mr. Percy Selous was bitten by his "pet" Moc- 

 casin, he died in fifty hours, despite medical 

 treatment. 



The Moccasin is a southern snake, and it is 

 a pity the species is not confined to Tierra del 

 Fuego. It lives along the grassy margins of bay- 



COrPERIIBAD. 



ous and swamps, and is most frequently found 



lying at the shore line, with its head and a small 



1 An-cis'tro-aim pis-ci-voras . 



portion of its body out of the water. It is also 

 much in the habit of lying upon logs, on bushes 

 overhanging water, or in the vicinity of dried-up 

 pools. When disturbed, it starts up, opens its- 

 mouth very wide, holds it open, moves its tail in 

 slow vibrations, and stares wickedly at the in- 

 truder. It is the whiteness of the interior of 

 the mouth that has given rise to the name of 

 "Cotton-Mouth Moccasin." 



This serpent does not coil itself in a round, 

 tight coil, like a rattlesnake. As a rule, it holds 

 its ground tenaciously, and does not retreat 

 unless deep water is near. The fangs are shorter 

 in proportion than in the rattlesnake, and the 

 action of the poison is not so quick and violent 

 as that of the rattler. But the bite must be 

 taken seriously, and treated with the utmost 

 vigor, if a fatal result is to be avoided. 



This serpent attains an extreme length of about 

 5 feet, and a diameter of 3 inches. Usually, 



s^y 



WATER-MOCCASIN. 



however, specimens are about 3i feet by 2 inches. 

 When adult, it is a snake absolutely devoid of 

 bright colors, its scales being the color of dried 

 mud, and very rough. The head is flat, the body 

 thick and puffed out, and the tail is very blunt. 



The young of the Moccasins are born alive, 

 each one being enclosed in a thin, transparent 

 sac, which bursts immediately upon reaching the 

 outer air. The young are usually from 7 to S in 

 number, but the last family born in the Reptile 

 House contained 14. The young are strongly 

 marked by light and dark bands, on account of 

 which they are easily mistaken for young cop- 

 perheads. They also resemble young hog-nosed 

 snakes. 



About the only redeeming feature in this 

 serpent is the fact that in captivity it is very 

 hardy. In four years, not one has died in our 



