PET SNAKES 
awe TERE is many a boy, who would 
scorn caring for a canary, finds a pet 
snake absorbingly interesting. A 
snake is not only a beautiful crea- 
ture, but is wonderfully constructed. 
The length of its back-bone is truly 
astonishing, some snakes having three 
hundred vertebre. We can tell how many our pet 
snake has by counting the crosswise scales on 
its lower side, as there is a pair to each scale. 
These scales take hold upon the surface of the 
ground and thus help the snake to glide. We 
can feel the action of these scales if we let the 
snake move over our hands; they are worked 
by the action of the ribs, for each vertebra, except 
the one directly behind the head, is equipped with 
a pair of ribs. The snake has unwinking eyes 
because it has no eyelids; but the eye is covered with 
a transparent skin, like a watch-glass. When a 
snake sheds its skin, it begins the process at the lips, 
and the whole outer skin is turned inside out from 
head to tail. If we examine one of these shed skins 
we can see the covering of the eyes. Snakes can hear 
very well although they have no outside ear. They 
also have a keen sense of smell, some snakes hunting 
their prey by scent, like a dog. The tongue, which 
can be darted out so far, is an organ of touch; and 
this act on the part of a frightened snake is not one of 
defiance, but an attempt to discover the nature of its 
surroundings. 
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