Stather : Our Reptile Pets. 



93 



of age most likely, as I found certain sizes associated with certain 

 colours. Those about the length of a finger were a pale yellow, with 

 a thin black stripe down the back ; the largest were invariably dark, 

 some very dark. Small slugs appear to be their favourite food. I 

 once kept forty to fifty at large in a garden walled on all sides, and 

 several times I caught the large trying to swallow the small ones ; 

 whether purposely cannibal or mistaking the small ones for worms, I 

 cannot say. Those I caught almost invariably turned the point of the 

 tail, and stuck it at my hand. As this point is hard and rather sharp, 

 it may be part of the creature's defence. In addition, they have a very 

 viperish look, and the tail not only comes off easily, but twitches and 

 moves, when touched, for some time. 



Natrix torquata, the ringed or grass snake. — This handsome and 

 harmless reptile is readily distinguished from the adder, both by its 

 size (which is usually at least double that of the viper) and by a bright 

 yellow collar. Besides these distinctions the snake is spotted down 

 the sides, while the adder has a broad zigzag line down the back. I 

 have said the ringed snake is perfectly harmless, yet it is not always 

 to be handled with impunity, especially by those who possess sensitive 

 noses, for it can, and sometimes does, eject from a gland near the vent 

 a chalky-looking liquid of a most evil odour — one, too, that is not so 

 easily subjugated by soap and water. The first display of this odour in 

 my experience, took place in an old quarry, in South Wales. I 

 was casually turning over the old stones when, on turning over 

 a rather large one, I saw a snake j it was from three to four feet 

 in length, and so ugly that a cold shudder ran through me at 

 the sight. He must have been about to change his skin ; his 

 colours were all faded, the eyes were of a milk-and-watery colour, 

 and the yellow collar was all but invisible. He lay still for a 

 second or two, but the moment he started off my hesitation was 

 gone, and I clutched him by the middle. I never saw an animal 

 in such a rage. He writhed and twisted, hissed and darted at my 

 hand, and flung about that horrid stinking stuff, till I was almost 

 tempted to let go ; I held on, however, till he tired, and then boxed 

 him. I have frequently come across portions of the cast skins, and 

 once of a perfect skin, cast even to the coverings of the eyes. I have 

 never found any of the eggs of the snake ; they are described as being 

 about as large as blackbirds' eggs, covered with a tough, leathery skin, 

 and joined together, and they are mostly laid in manure heaps, doubt- 

 less for warmth. One great difference I noticed between blindworms 

 and snakes is, the antipathy of the former, and the fondness of the 



