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"Ah, here you are. Say hello to my new babies."
—Dr. Volumnia Gaul[src]
The snake mutts in their tank.

The snake mutts in their tank.

The snake mutts were muttations used during the 10th Hunger Games.

History[]

Coriolanus Snow first encountered snake mutts in the Citadel lab. Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the Head Gamemaker, used them to determine whether a paper that Coriolanus had given her was solely his work or a collaborative effort. Because the paper had in fact been a solo work, the mutts did not recognize the scent of Coriolanus's classmate, Clemensia Dovecote, and bit her hand.[1] She was immediately injected with black fluid from a hypodermic needle, at which point she passed out and was taken to the Capitol Hospital.[2]

In the evening on the third day of the Hunger Games, Coriolanus went to see Dr. Gaul in her lab for a follow-up appointment about his wounded arm. On his way out, he came upon two lab assistants trying to get a cart with a tank of snake mutts onto the elevator. Coriolanus asked where the snakes were headed to, and the assistants claimed they were being taken to another lab. However, Coriolanus was suspicious that they would be used in the Capitol Arena, so he dropped a handkerchief into the tank. He hoped that exposing them to the scent of his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, would deter them from attacking her.[3]

Lucy Gray being swarmed by snakes.

Lucy Gray being swarmed by snakes.

As he predicted, the snakes were set upon the tributes on the fourth day of the Games as retribution for the death of Gaius Breen. They killed Circ and Coral, then flocked to Lucy Gray[4] harmlessly as she sang "The Old Therebefore".[5]

By the fifth and final day of the Games, the mutts were all seemingly dead, either drowned in an overnight storm or unable to handle the cold, wet night. However, Lucy Gray was able to protect one from the elements by keeping it in her skirt pocket. When Treech attacked her, she fished the snake out and it bit him in the back of the neck, killing him.[5]

Film adaptation[]

In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Lucy Gray killed Treech with rat poison rather than a snake. The mutts were released shortly afterward on the second day of the Games, which would be the last. This was done to avenge the death of President Ravinstill's son, Felix Ravinstill. The snakes killed Wovey, Reaper Ash, Mizzen, and Coral.[6]

Appearance[]

The snakes were of various bright colors, including neon pink, yellow, and blue. Each was no longer than a ruler and not much thicker than a pencil. They could not see too well and could hear even less, but were bred to have a more acute sense of smell than normal snakes.[1] Dr. Gaul later explained that the mutts were only snakelets, so they were not yet fully grown. At maturity, she expected that they would be able to "easily outrun a human" and scale difficult or unusual terrain.[4]

Effects[]

Clemensia reaching into the snakes' tank.

Clemensia reaching into the snakes' tank.

Their venom was fast-acting and lethal, causing bright pus to seep from the victims' wounds. Despite this, one could recover if the antivenom was administered quickly enough, as was the case for Clemensia;[2] however, even then she would still suffer side effects for as long as a year afterward.[5] These side effects included yellowing of the eyes, motor tics, growth of scales, and dry, peeling skin.[7]

Victims[]

In the book, the snakes claimed three victims, while in the film, they killed four. Coral was the only tribute who was killed by the snakes in both versions.

Book Film

Trivia[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 7
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 8
  3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 18
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 19
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 20
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
  7. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 10
  8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
  9. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Chapter 30
  10. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Epilogue
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