Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok I am the reptile keeper at the Alexandria Zoo in Alexandria, LA. I had something happen the other day at work that I have never seen before. So I got a call over the radio from one of the other keepers that they needed me to come to the muntjac (small Asian deer) exhibit and bring something to remove a snake that looks like it is eating a Mandarin duck egg. Now I figured its probably a garter or rat snake sitting on top of a warm clutch of eggs. Well I get over there and in the muntjac barn there is a Texas/Black rat snake curled up on top of the eggs with half an egg in its mouth. Now I had heard what I assumed were tall tales of snakes eating chicken eggs. I am one of those people unless you have a picture, video or I have seen it then I don't believe it. I think that comes from being a biology major. But I removed the snake and unfortunetly it did not get to finish it's meal but under the snake there were two other eggs that were cracked open with nothing inside and the egg he was swallowing was cracked and their was a half formed Mandarin duck baby in it. I don't know if he some how got in the other eggs and at them or what but I do know that he was prepared to swallow that whole egg.

I just felt I needed to share that experience because that made my day at work.
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1.1 Motley het butter corns
0.1 Snow corn
0.1 Okeetee corn
1.0 Anery mutt corn
0.1 Stripe Ghost corn
0.1 Amelanistic corn het carmel
2.1 Colombian Redtails
1.0 Hypo Colombian redtail
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Anery Kenyan sand boa
0.1 Normal Kenyan sand boa

I've heard that the way snakes eat eggs is by swallowing them, then they break them down inside, eat the baby whatever-it-is, and spit the egg itself back out. I don't know if this is true or whether or not this is what happened, but it's a possibility. That is a strange sight to see though!

Jessica

You are referring to eggeating snakes[Dasypeltis and Elachistodon] regurging eggshells. N. American Ratsnakes eat and digest the entire egg shell and all....TC

Oh, okay. Well at least I was partially correct. I didn't realize it was only a certain kind of snake. Thanks for correcting me.

Jessica

Your welcome. True eggeaters are very interesting because they use special bones on the underside of the backbone to pop the eggs before completely swallowing it. They then swallow the contents and regurge the shell. It's amazing to watch....TC

You could have checked the contents of it's stomach. Probably too late for that now though.
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na we just moved it to somewhere else in the zoo
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1.1 Motley het butter corns
0.1 Snow corn
0.1 Okeetee corn
1.0 Anery mutt corn
0.1 Stripe Ghost corn
0.1 Amelanistic corn het carmel
2.1 Colombian Redtails
1.0 Hypo Colombian redtail
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Anery Kenyan sand boa
0.1 Normal Kenyan sand boa

is making a snake regurgitate bad or it at all besides the fact that it misses out on that meal?