Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all --

I'm getting back into snake keeping after a long absence. I'm thinking about getting one or two corns. And this has set me to thinking --

I know, as a chicken keeper, that large rat snakes will eat chicken eggs. How about corns? Yes, I know that corns are red rat snakes, but I'm really only familiar with black rats in terms of egg eating.

I have eggs in all sizes, from button quail to duck, and in the spring possibly turkey. If I did get some corns, I'd be more than happy to share my eggs with them -- but I'd like to check it out first.

Thanks in advance for any info!
-----
----

0.1.0 Peruvian rainbow boa
0.1.2 Honduran milk snakes
1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters

"Red Rat Snake" is a common name and common names aren't always accurate (e.g. starfish, jellyfish and silverfish aren't fish - they're echinoderms, scyphozoa and insects respectively).

Rat snakes, like Black, Grey and Yellow, are a different species of snake as Corns.

While Corn Snake do eat eggs, it seems less common of a food source than rodents. Eggs are not eaten as the sole food item by either Corn Snakes or Rat Snakes and I'm not sure they'd be nutritionally complete (like rodents are) - or if the Corn Snake would even eat them at all.

Tim

Third Eye

>>"Red Rat Snake" is a common name and common names aren't always accurate (e.g. starfish, jellyfish and silverfish aren't fish - they're echinoderms, scyphozoa and insects respectively).
>>
>>Rat snakes, like Black, Grey and Yellow, are a different species of snake as Corns.

Yes, I know. Elaphe guttata vs obsoleta, and all that, unless the genus name has changed in the last few years. But thanks for the input! If I do end up getting any corns I may offer them a few small eggs just to see what they think about em, as long as nobody thinks it's likely to be actively harmful. I'd love to get an egg-eating snake some time, but I certainly don't expect corns to make a complete diet out of em.
-----
----

0.1.0 Peruvian rainbow boa
0.1.2 Honduran milk snakes
1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters

I may be wrong about this, but I think that eggs must by definition contain all the same nutrients as a chick. When you think about it all of the building blocks of the bird chick are in the egg plus what the embryo "burns" for energy. So eggs are just un-assembled bird chicks (or baby reptiles) and should be just as nutrient rich.

At least thats what I think, feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Even if eggs don't have everything a corn needs I don't see any harm from offering them now and then. As long as the snake can get an egg down they can digest it. Just be prepaired for some messy poo.
-----
1 BP
4 Cal Kings 3 alb 1 het
3 Alb Corn
1 Rev Alb Nelsons

Thanks for your post!

We know that SOME snakes can live off of eggs -- for example, egg-eating snakes (Dasypeltis and Elachistodon). But that doesn't mean that *any* snake could. Nonetheless, I think you're right that eggs have to be nutritionally complete, or at least nearly so.

If I do end up with corns, I'm gonna have to try this. It would be a shame not to, with all the extra eggs I've got lying around.
-----
----

0.1.0 Peruvian rainbow boa
0.1.2 Honduran milk snakes
1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters

if it smells like a bird they will eat it...
don't wash them obviously.......
I would use bantam and quail eggs...smaller...
forget the turkey....hatch them....
forget duck and goose...you eat them...make a cake using duck eggs once...LOL...you'll see the difference.....
......
egg eating snakes are in classifieds all the time under "other snakes"....cheap ....

...
-----
.

...(______________________)

>>if it smells like a bird they will eat it...
>>don't wash them obviously.......
>>I would use bantam and quail eggs...smaller...

Yup. I've even got two different sizes of quail egg -- button and Coturnix -- as well as several sizes of bantam chicken egg. I think I'm set.

>>forget duck and goose...you eat them...make a cake using duck eggs once...LOL...you'll see the difference.....

I've heard that many times, about baking with duck eggs -- but I rarely bake, so I've never tried it myself! I eat duck eggs all the time in other ways, though. Yummy!

>>......
>>egg eating snakes are in classifieds all the time under "other snakes"....cheap ....

I'm gonna have to try em one of these days. Pity they aren't more attractively colored!
-----
----

0.1.0 Peruvian rainbow boa
0.1.2 Honduran milk snakes
1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters

i had a customer who has purchased many corns from me feed her corns sparrow eggs in the spring and summer.
if their were any in the nest she would pull them out and give em to the snake.
adam jeffery
-----
" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

>>i had a customer who has purchased many corns from me feed her corns sparrow eggs in the spring and summer.

As long as they were house sparrows, that's a great idea!
-----
----

0.1.0 Peruvian rainbow boa
0.1.2 Honduran milk snakes
1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters

While I often offer the content of an egg to my corns I highly doubt one of my snakes will eat the egg itself.

>>Hello all --

>>I know, as a chicken keeper, that large rat snakes will eat chicken eggs. How about corns?

-----
Marcel Poots (Holland)
'Where is your crown King Nothing?' James Hettfield
The ultimate cornpredictor

I have seen pictures of corns eating quail eggs they were offered. I have tried love bird eggs once but the snakes weren't interested.