Show malayan snakes prove V expensive zoo guests the keepers of the reptile house of the london zoo might well be intoning a new version of the nursery rhyme about the ten little for this is exactly what happened there seventy four cerberus water snakes arrived at the zoo the hamadryads ate 12 of them now see 62 the hamadryad snakes are three ip in number T their heir habitat is malaya from the first day of their arrival they proved rather expensive to feed until the water snakes came they had lived comfortably on a black and gold tree snake apiece ai a week but as these reptiles are rare and cost about 20 to 25 each the hamadryads meals proved a strain on event he zoos resources you see says a zoo keeper we have only three black and gold snakes left now and they must be kept for show so we imported these cerberus water snakes from southeastern asia as a substitute they only cost about 10 shillings each if you buy a lot of them so it is an economy in a way as three cerberus snakes go to one black and gold one he pointed to the cage in which the new arrivals were crawling happily about oblivious of the fate before them three of them will be lucky he said as we will keep theme them for display the rest will be fed to the hamadryads at the rate of about six a week although we will vary the diet occasionally absolutely no pain is involved for the water snakes fis however as the great hamadryads render each victim unconscious before consuming it it is one of those problems we are always being confronted with the keeper said the hama ham a dryads dreads would starve to death if we give them live food the cerberus water snakes in their natural surroundings would almost certainly meet a far more unpleasant end it is happier for all concerned this way |