Thamnophis elegans terrestris cage in MVZ snake caught 11 Mar 56 20 July - This week his eyes are cloudy. 23 July - Skin of head hanging loosely. Skin broken along line of mouth and across pre- frontals. 24 July - Skin off lower part of head. P.M. Skin pretty well peeled back from sides and bottom of head. 27 July - Saw several dark round objects (13) scattered over body. Thought they were eggs of a parasitic insect. Later picked 50+ from the snake and the cage. Also are some very small, light colored beasts. The large (1mm) dark things seem to be Arachids of some sort, gorged with blood. Returned snake to cage & put water in the pan, dry for a long time. He immediately drank, rested, drank, repeated several times. His lower jaw was under water, and he opened and closed it fairly rapidly. Move- ments in the back of the throat (or head, between ram) indicated swallowing. Later it lay in the water as much as it could. After a while it twisted wildly through the shavings on the cage floor, and got covered, the shavings sticking to its wet body. Soon the skin on the back of its head was off and it was split and loosening along the side. 29 July Today his skin is completely shed. Added a & Peromyscus maniculatus to cage. Snake struck immediately several times, but mouse got away. After missing, it retreated under cardboard on floor of cage,