FEEDING A BOA.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 43, 20 February 1886, Page 5

FEEDING A BOA.

Theke ore two lino boas in the roptilo-house at tho Zoological Gardens, Adelaide (says tho "Register,") but ono of thorn has boen " off his food," bo to speak, ever Binco ho took up his quarters thoro, and has caton nothing for 14 months. It was hoped that he would find his appetite whon he changed his skin, but he went through that delicate operation Bomo months ago and still continued to fast. On Tuesday, probably stimulated by the warm weather, he cast his skin, and appeared more lively than usual, so that hopes were entertained that he would feed. An attempt was mado on "Wednesday to induce him to eat, but he remained doubled up in his wator-trough with nothing but tho tip of his square snout protruding, ond obstinately refused to be comforted even by a fat guinea pig. His smaller companion, who had been fasting for ten days, was not bo fastidious. A plump guinea pig was put in olive, and after eyeing it cautiously for a minute ho suddenly struck it like a flash on the neok, and instantly threw a single coil round the animal He had, however got into an awkward position, and could neithor mako free uso of his coils nor get fairly at his prey with his mouth. Ho appeared to be endeavouring to get at the head, but had tho animal so mixed up in his coils that he could not place it properly, and ho kept on crushing it. Tho keeper put in his hand to pull tho guinea pig away, and the boa rather resented this, looking very vicious out of his cold glassy eyes and seeming inclined to dart. Finally he got Mb still palpitating prey in a satisfactory position, and began slowly to crush it in the folds of ita hugo body, at the samo time seizinp the snout and steadily Bucking the animal in. The guinea pig disappeared down the boa's elastic throat in about seven minutes. A rabbit of ordinary size, but several times bigger than the circumference of tho boa's throat, was put in, and innocently hopped about over its enemy's back, showing none of the instinctive dread of tho reptile that animals are credited with. Presently the boa constrictor, with startling rapidity, struck at tho poor animal and caught it by the hind leg. In tho samo breath he threw a coil round the body and compressed it with great force, the muscles working E lately beneath the scaly Bkin. Shifting is lithe body in such a way as to bring the coils on different parts of the rabbit's frame, he speedily reduced it to a limp mass of crushed bones and flo_h, making it considerably longer in the process. When ho had done this he got the defunct bunny in a convenient coil, and set to work with great deliberation absorbing the furry morsel. Opening his jaws to an extraordinary extent, he got the rabbit's head in, and partly by strong suction and partly by working the muscles in his elastic throat, drew it in, much in the same way as a perron would force the cover on a closed umbrella. When he had got the rabbit's shoulders in his mouth, the serpent's head was bo stretched that it had lost all natural shape, and looked more like a pieco of indiarubber hose than anything else. The whole time he was still compressing the body in a

coil, which he worked and shifted as he absorbed his prey. After swallowing, the rabbit's now much elongated carcase could be distinctly traced in ita pasßogo down the boa's body, the muscles of which alternately swelled and contracted like thoso in the throatof aperaonewallowing alargor piece of meat than ordinary. Tho boa constrictor has rather a small head—in fact, not much larger than that of the rabbit he disposed of —but in the act of taking his meal its power., of expansion wero really astonishing ; the skin was stretched till it became almost transparent. The guinea pig and the rabbit seemed to eatisfy hia snakeahip, for although he followed the movements of a fresh guinea pig, ho did not attempt to strike at it. The othor boa constrictor remained quietly in his tank of water all the time, and could not be induced to partake of the banquet. This is to be regretted, because if he can be induced to eat now he has oast his skin he may recover. The mode in which boa constrictors seize their prey has often been disputed, some travellers asserting that they always cast a coil or two round the animal before seizing hold, but the ono at the Zoo, who probably knows his business, in each case seized with the teeth, and cast a coil round afterwards, the two acts being almost simultaneous. The reason a doubt has been created is because the boas as a rule hang suspended, head downwards, from tho limb of a tree like a liana, and it was aFsumed that they lashed round any aseing animal's body liko a whip.