Rat snakes and eggs???

[ryan337]

I have heard that rat snakes can eat eggs. I was just wondering whether or not this is true. I tried to find info on it, but couldn't find anything saying that they can or not. Any input is welcome. Thanks in advance.

[BWSmith]

I would not doubt it from obsoleta. Birds usually work for nonfeeders. But of course, I would never feed eggs to any of my captives, per se.

[ont_herper]

"Black Rat Snakes prey primarily on rodents and birds and their eggs" from Snakes of North America by Alan Tennant 2003. I have also heard of farmers finding rat snakes in their chicken pens. Im not recommending anything Im just stating they are known to eat eggs.

I would say it is iffy. Egg eaters have specialized vertebra that break the shell then regurg the shell after swallowing the contents. I never heard anyone mention the structure on most ratsnakes but then again it may not be a necessary development.

[Vanan]

Not all egg eaters regurg the shell after breaking it. E. climacophora digest the eggshell.

Here's an abstract from a page, about rats in general (with a small part mentioning the spikes in E. climacophora), which I found while briefly looking for info.

"Eat small mammals (rats and mice), small birds (young chickens, nestling wild birds) and eggs. Kill active prey by constriction, but smaller and less active prey is eaten alive. Eggs are swallowed whole then either crushed part way down or digested whole.

E. climacophora (Japanese rat snake) has esophageal "teeth" to break the egg, but other species are not so specialized. Rat snakes, particularly the very young, are also known to eat other snakes, lizards and small frogs."

Source : .http://www.chaffeezoo.org/animals/cornSnake.html

I never heard anyone mention the structure on most ratsnakes but then again it may not be a necessary development.

I think that's probably the case as the enlarged spikes in Dasypeltis and the japanese rats, probably make it an easier job of crushing the eggshell. Especially since they're smaller and more slender species. P. obsoletus may not require that as they may have enough muscle mass (combined with regular peristalsis) to crush the shell.

As for whether to feed your rat eggs, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're trying to watch and document a certain behaviour. Healthwise, it may be risky as eggshell is polluted with Salmonella. It may cause an upset in bacterial fauna an cause a Salmonella infection in your snake.