Snakes: Curiosities and Wonders of Serpent Life

by Catherine Cooper Hopley

The rattlesnakes always strike and then recede quickly, keeping a stealthy watch over their prey until it is perfectly still, often much longer. Puff adders and some others of the African vipers, on the contrary, retain their hold after biting. Cobras sometimes strike and retain their hold, and sometimes let the prey go and wait for it to die. On a small creature the effect of Puff-adder venom is instantaneous; and a remarkable difference is observable between the effect on a timid victim and on a rat. One of these adders ate a sparrow alive August 20, 1874, that is, struck and held it, swallowing it so quickly that it had not time to die. A sparrow is, however, a very small prey for so large a serpent. Another Puff adder, about to cast its coat, bit a guinea-pig, which was rapidly convulsed, as with spasms, accompanied by sharp jerkings of the limbs for nearly five minutes, when it became motionless. In this case the charge of venom might be feeble. In September of that year a Puff adder (I think the same as the last named) bit a rat, which at first ran about trying to escape, going close to the viper, as if unconscious of an enemy, and apparently unharmed during the first minute. Then it became aware of pain, and began to lash its tail, whisking it round and round in a frantic manner. Then one of its hind legs kicked out, probably the bitten limb, jerking violently for a time, and the rat lay helpless thus for about two minutes. In four minutes from the bite it gasped, and continued to gasp harder and harder for nearly three minutes more. It then bled at the mouth. The Puff adder then bit it again, when, after two or three more minutes, it leaped violently in convulsions from the effect of the second bite. The convulsions became gradually less; but fully twenty minutes elapsed, in spite of a double charge of venom, before the rat was dead. In all similar cases I noticed that rats were very tenacious of life. A guinea-pig has been killed in five seconds from the bite of a Puff adder.

On the same day, a ‘nose-horned viper’ (Vipera nasicornis) struck a rabbit, which immediately ran and started spasmodically, panting as if astonished and wondering what had hurt him. Then he leaped into the well at the back of the cage, but in that short moment was too feeble to crawl back again. He attempted to run, but sank quickly. Being out of sight, it was impossible to state the exact moment in which it died, but the whole was in less than two minutes. These vipers are no doubt intensely virulent. Another day one of them with a bad swelled face from abscess bit a guinea-pig, which in thirty seconds fell over on its side. It squeaked convulsively the moment it was bitten, and several times afterwards. It lay motionless for half a minute, appearing to be dead, but gave one slight start afterwards, and was perfectly still before three minutes expired.

In stating these periods of time decisively, it is by the watch. When I did not keep my watch in hand, I do not state the time so positively.

Between those larger African vipers, when all are in full vigour, there would appear to be not much difference in power of bite. A ‘River Jack’ (Vipera rhinoceros) struck a guinea-pig, holding it in his mouth till dead, which was in less than two minutes. Poor little piggy struggled convulsively the first few moments as if in pain; then only gasped as if labouring to breathe, but soon was insensible.

The poison of Cenchris piscivorus, though a much slighter snake, seems as potent as that of the rattlesnake. One of these struck a guinea-pig—the action being so swift that some of us who were attentively observing were not sure that the animal had been bitten at all, except from the instantaneous effects, the guinea-pig leaping frantically and dashing itself about for a few seconds; then it sank gasping heavily, and kicking convulsively, until in a few minutes life was extinct. Some of the creatures live ten minutes, others not ten seconds. I was glad to observe that in most cases insensibility rapidly overcame them. And without exception, it was observable that of the two—the snake or the destined food—the first named was by far the most alarmed, or ‘charmed.’ In the actions of the little creatures thrown into the cages, there was a fearless, unsuspicious freedom, when once they had recovered the surprise of finding themselves suddenly there instead of in a dark box. Rabbits hop about and over the snakes, and then sit up and clean themselves. Birds plume themselves and look about to see what they can pick up, perching upon the snake as if it were a log of wood. Rats run hither and thither to find something to eat, and then wash their faces. Many of the little animals run over the snakes, quite unconscious of their being live enemies, or force their noses under them, to the evident alarm and discomfort of the Ophidian, should he be disinclined to move. Sometimes, if faint and languid, and huddled together in a corner, it is because they—the victims—are oppressed with the closeness of the cage and the vitiated air, but quite apart from any ‘spell’ or magnetic influence. They may stare at the serpent that is staring at them, and as they stare in alarm at the people, but they have never seen a python, a puff adder, or a rattlesnake before in their lives, and have not the slightest idea that they are going to be eaten by one. And for this reason you so often see the startled and surprised look the moment of being struck. Thus far they have been unconscious of danger; and when a shock does come, it is incomprehensible, because instinct does not guide them under the circumstances.

On account of the excessive timidity of cobras, it is seldom that they can be observed when feeding, which is frequently in the night, or ‘when no one is looking,’ to repeat the keeper’s words; but the little Indian viper (Echis carinata) should not be omitted in these notes, because there is difference of opinion regarding its virulence. Being one of the smallest vipers, only from sixteen to eighteen inches in length, one would argue extraordinary power from effects seen. A friend who had resided in India expressed great astonishment on hearing it said that a cobra was supposed to be more deadly than this one, known as the ‘carpet viper’ or the ‘whip snake,’ which, he said, could kill a man in a half-hour, and that he had seen men thus die. ‘If a cobra bite you, you have at least four or five hours to live,’ he said; ‘but half an hour for the whip snake, and you are a dead man.’ The individual brought to the Gardens in 1875 died the day after it gave birth to three young ones. While alive it ate nothing, and, as it was then thought, because it had not its natural food, Dr. Günther having discovered nothing but scolopendræ in the specimens which he had examined. Now it would be interesting to discover whether, as Aristotle affirmed, the bites of all venomous animals are more pernicious if they have devoured each other, or if snakes have devoured scorpions, and whether the toxic powers of the little Echis are aggravated by the venomous food it evidently prefers at home. ‘In India is a certain little serpent for the bite of which alone the natives have no remedy,’ said Aristotle; and one can scarcely err in deciding this to be the Echis, being not only the smallest venomous snake there, but the only viper, except Russell’s viper, a much larger snake.

Only twice could I observe the toxic effects of the Echis carinata at present (1882) in the collection; both cases being in hot weather. It has so far conformed to circumstances in England, as to consent to dine on small white mice, failing scorpions. In the first case it struck the mouse savagely as soon as it was dropped into the cage, and the mouse died in less than two minutes. Echis approached it stealthily and timidly, but having at last got courage to seize it, ate it very quickly; and as the snake moved and dragged it, the mouse appeared to be quite stiff in that short time. On the second occasion, it bit a mouse on the leg, and it was five minutes dying. At first only the leg was paralyzed; then a spasm followed, and the mouse fell over and lay extended flat and still as if dead; but presently a spasmodic convulsion followed. It again appeared to be dead, and the little viper approached; but on a very slight spasm receded swiftly, not once taking its eyes off the mouse, which was dying slowly. The viper was at least five minutes swallowing this, and as if it did not much care about it. One must argue, therefore, that the charge of venom had been scantily expended, as the difference between this and the previous victim was remarkable. Echis poison has been seen to take instantaneous effect. The small Vipera atropos from the South African mountains is also astoundingly virulent. One in the collection in 1881 struck a mouse as soon as it arrived, and death occurred in fifty seconds by the watch. A large store of poison must have accumulated during its journey and since its previous meal.

One more African snake must be mentioned before I conclude the painful duty of describing the inevitable—though happily short—sufferings inflicted by venomous serpents.

Three young Najas, the well-known Ring Halsschlange of South Africa, were brought in the spring of, I think, 1877. They were very black and very shy, and for a long while one could see nothing more of them than three little heads in a row peeping out from under their blanket, and watching with their large round black eyes, but vanishing like a shot at your approach. ‘They cut away the moment you go near them,’ said the keeper. When they did give us an opportunity of looking at them, we found that one was quite black, and another was speckled with white; they erected their heads and distended their necks defiantly. Their eyes had a white rim round them, and were bright and undeniably beautiful, even though belonging to a venomous snake. Whether because they were young and inexperienced, or naturally stupid, I could not decide but of all the snakes none ever went so awkwardly to work in feeding, or put their victims to such unnecessary torture, as did these ridiculous little Najas. The feeding observations were made in August, when they had grown considerably, and had become accustomed to their home. They seemed to bite the prey anywhere without much effect, sometimes retaining it in their mouth, and at other times beginning at once to eat it. One frog was ten minutes from the time it was struck until it was swallowed, and for no reason beyond the feeder’s awkwardness. The little snake began at a hind leg, and not being able to get the frog into its mouth, put it down and began again at the side, but with no better result, the legs being in the way. Then he gave it up and let the frog go, and presently his comrade struck the half-dead thing and took five minutes to eat it. One might decide from this that frogs were not their natural food; but with very young sparrows the same mismanagement was observable. The bird was awkwardly bitten on the tip of the wing, and the snake held it helplessly for a quarter of an hour while the bird was struggling violently. Not getting good hold, the snake put it down and began again, so that the poor little sparrow was twenty minutes in being swallowed, gasping to the last, and evidently only very feebly poisoned. One of the Najas bit his companion, and held on for about ten minutes, and for no reason whatever that one could discern. In no other venomous snakes have I seen such prolonged suffering caused by such stupidity or bungling as in those young African ‘Ring Hals.’ Their fangs are, however, exceedingly short, as I found on examining a dead one, and this may account for the slow effect of them.

Three other heads were often seen in a row peeping out, but belonging to harmless ‘glass snakes,’ and there was intelligence in their looks; for they recognised the keeper, and advanced to the glass whenever he passed, asking for their dinner as plainly as little snakes could ask. A Heterodon exhibited equal intelligence when it was dinner-time, and sprang at the glass when he saw the keeper coming. Some of the pythons display intelligence too, on feeding days, but of quite an epicure form. One day in May 1876, on remarking that the pythons were disinclined to eat, Holland said ‘they were waiting for young ducks,’ only elderly birds being in their cage at the time. Even in summer they don’t eat the old ducks so eagerly, because the large, hard quills annoy them. A bunch of these quills passes undigested. Hair or feathers in a desiccated mass pass through the snakes, and occasionally, when they are not in health, digestible but undigested substances too, also the beaks of the ducks.