WORM-LIKE SNAKES 
BLIND SNAKES 
One morning some burghers of Calcutta turned on the water for their 
baths and were amazed to see dark brown, wormlike creatures some six 
inches in length issuing from the faucets. When identified, the intruders 
proved to be blind snakes, a subterranean species with eyes covered over 
by scales and a short, sharp spine at their rear extremity. These reptiles, 
which come to the surface of the ground only in wet weather, are good 
swimmers. They are believed not to be totally blind, but to be capable of 
distinguishing between light and darkness. Sometimes they invade houses 
in throngs of one hundred or more. 
Blind snakes are timid, inoffensive creatures, whose only defenses 
against aggressors are their subterranean life and their armorlike scales, 
which protect them from the soldier ants sharing their abode. They are 
valuable to man as destroyers of snake and insect eggs and of termites, 
which in many countries destroy the wooden underpinning of rural dwell¬ 
ings. Another item on their menu is caterpillar droppings. 
Above ground, these creatures progress smoothly and actively. When 
angry they dart out their tongues like other snakes. Their smooth, shiny 
scales prevent the earth from sticking to them as they burrow. Because 
of a similarity of appearance between head and tail some Indian natives 
believe them to be two-headed. Wall observes that as a defense these 
reptiles emit a foul-smelling anal discharge, which may also serve to help 
the sexes find one another in the mating season. 
A blind snake placed on a table by one investigator, tied itself into 
a knot. The knot was not untied by reverse action, but by moving forward, 
so that the knot passed down the body and off the tail. 
It is believed that only the younger and smaller specimens are seen 
at the surface, while the adults burrow deeper and do not emerge. These 
creatures are believed to slough their skins underground, but the candid 
camera has not yet surprised them in the act. The blind snake’s eggs, two 
to seven in number, resemble cooked rice grains. 
106 
