42. Notes on the Feeding of Snakes in Captivity.

Abstract

Some years ago, in a paper contributed to the ‘Proceedings' of the Society by Dr. Chalmers Mitchell and Mr. R. I. Pocock, entitled “The Feeding of Reptiles in Captivity” (P.Z.S. 1907, p. 785), a general account was given of the feeding habits of the Snakes then living in the Gardens, together with records of a large number of individual specimens, showing the amount consumed between the months of May and October. My own general observations tally with those of Dr. Mitchell and Mr. Pocock, and my object in presenting this paper is to lay before the Society some additional facts, to show how unnecessary it is to feed the snakes on live creatures, and to give a detailed record of the amount taken and of the regularity of the meals in a number of specimens over a period of a year.