Page:British Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fresh-water Fishes.djvu/31

SMOOTH SNAKE pet, provided that, when not in hibernation, a sufficient food-supply can be secured to keep it going.

Smooth Snake.—Coronella austriaca (Fig. 3). Belongs to the same Family as the last-named species, but is much rarer in Britain, although it occurs elsewhere over the greater part of Europe. Although it sometimes haunts damp situations, it appears more fond of dry retreats, where it can secure during the Spring, Summer and Autumn an abundance of sunshine, in which it appears to revel. It produces about a dozen eggs during August, or early in September, and these are advanced

in incubation to such an extent that the young soon afterwards make their exit from their shelly covering. One writer distinctly states that the young are produced alive. The food appears to consist of other reptiles and mice. The body colour may be brown, brownish-yellow, reddish-brown, or rusty, and there is a double array of irregular dark spots on the back. The eyes are small, 15