# New food for snake



## LeilaNami (Feb 9, 2009)

I was out of mice last night and my cal king was acting awfully hungry.  I also have a cage of white doves with a male and two females and they are constantly popping out eggs.  (Can you guess where this is going?)  Well, the eggs were the perfect size for my snake to eat so I decided to try it out.  
I first set the egg in the middle of the feeding enclosure for him to check it out.  After "sniffing" it for a while, he excitedly struck at it but the egg shot off to the other side of the tank.  He looked so confused  The second attempt, I placed the egg in the corner so it wouldn't happen again.  This time, he gently took it and it took a few minutes for him to get it down.  I guess this might be a good use for the eggs that i usually toss in the trash.


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## arachnocat (Feb 9, 2009)

lol! Too bad you didn't get that on film  
I thought of trying to feed mine eggs, but I wasn's sure if they only ate snake eggs though. I've seen quail eggs in the store and thought they might be a tasty treat.


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## LeilaNami (Feb 9, 2009)

Well, the egg I gave him was warm since mom was sitting on it and I don't need anymore doves  If you warm up the quail egg enough without cooking the thing then your snake would probably take it.


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## davidbarber1 (Feb 9, 2009)

Leila, good thinking. You might want to feed eggs more often. According to Stebbins in the Field Guide to Western Reptiles And Amphibians, "Eats snakes (including rattlers), lizards, small turtles, reptile eggs, frogs, birds and their eggs, and small mammals." So there you go.

David


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## JohnEDove (Feb 9, 2009)

If you want to get your Doves to stop laying, the next time she has a pair of eggs and tries to sit on them take them away long enough to hard boil them then put them back in the nest for her to set. She will set them until she is sure they will not hatch then give up and quit laying eggs till next year.
Egg laying depletes the calcium in her system and constant laying can really harm your bird.


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## P.jasonius (Feb 9, 2009)

Probably a good source of calcium, and from a natural source no less.


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## halfwaynowhere (Feb 9, 2009)

hmm... I wonder if a chicken egg would be too big for an adult king... might be worth trying sometime, considering I get them fresh from my backyard...


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## xchondrox (Feb 10, 2009)

Poops gonna be nice and messy;P


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## LeilaNami (Feb 10, 2009)

JohnEDove said:


> If you want to get your Doves to stop laying, the next time she has a pair of eggs and tries to sit on them take them away long enough to hard boil them then put them back in the nest for her to set. She will set them until she is sure they will not hatch then give up and quit laying eggs till next year.
> Egg laying depletes the calcium in her system and constant laying can really harm your bird.


That's good to know.  I don't provide her with nesting materials to try and deter her but she keeps insisting on laying in the food bowl anyway.  A few times I did leave a dead egg in with her.  She eventually gave up but a couple weeks later there was another one.  :wall:


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## JohnEDove (Feb 10, 2009)

Doves will sometimes nest 2 or 3 times in a season. If that happens just repeat the egg boiling process. As for their nesting habbits, they are the worst nest builders I know of so they will nest about anywhere.
I took a pic of a wild dove nesting about 5 feet off the ground in one of my trees last summer. The nest consisted of no more than a dozen sticks and a few blades of grass. I was suprised she was able to keep an egg in it much less hatch a chick and raise it, which she did.


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## JohnEDove (Feb 10, 2009)

halfwaynowhere said:


> hmm... I wonder if a chicken egg would be too big for an adult king... might be worth trying sometime, considering I get them fresh from my backyard...


I've fed Bantam Chicken eggs to snakes once or twice but I would not try feeding a large egg from a normal sized chicken to most snakes due to size and shell thickness.


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## ballpython2 (Feb 10, 2009)

davidbarber1 said:


> Leila, good thinking. You might want to feed eggs more often. According to Stebbins in the Field Guide to Western Reptiles And Amphibians, "Eats snakes (including rattlers), lizards, small turtles, reptile eggs, frogs, birds and their eggs, and small mammals." So there you go.
> 
> David


Just want to make sure i got this right "western" meaning like in the desert type places  right? like arizona, TX, CA? or western as in the whole USA?

Like boas wont eat those correct?

i do have a king snake though a black and white stripped/banded


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## LeilaNami (Feb 10, 2009)

JohnEDove said:


> Doves will sometimes nest 2 or 3 times in a season. If that happens just repeat the egg boiling process. As for their nesting habbits, they are the worst nest builders I know of so they will nest about anywhere.
> I took a pic of a wild dove nesting about 5 feet off the ground in one of my trees last summer. The nest consisted of no more than a dozen sticks and a few blades of grass. I was suprised she was able to keep an egg in it much less hatch a chick and raise it, which she did.


Haha that's true.  I let her hatch one egg before but I gave her material at that point.  It was cute watching the male help her build.  I got a blue-eyed female out of that egg.  I know the laying is hard on her so I'm going to keep trying to deter her.  I do give her calcium supplements as well.


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## davidbarber1 (Feb 10, 2009)

ballpython2 said:


> Just want to make sure i got this right "western" meaning like in the desert type places  right? like arizona, TX, CA? or western as in the whole USA?
> 
> Like boas wont eat those correct?
> 
> i do have a king snake though a black and white stripped/banded


Yes, western as in the states you mentioned, and the Cal King (Lampropeltis getula). As far as the Rosie Boa (Charina trivirgata), according to Stebbins they "Eat mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds." Does not mention eggs, although that does not mean they don't eat them. The Rubber Boa (Charina bottae) "Eats small mammals (especially mice, pocket gophers, and shrews), birds, salamanders (including Ensatina and their eggs), and lizards and snakes." Hope that helps.

David


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## ballpython2 (Feb 11, 2009)

davidbarber1 said:


> Yes, western as in the states you mentioned, and the Cal King (Lampropeltis getula). As far as the Rosie Boa (Charina trivirgata), according to Stebbins they "Eat mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds." Does not mention eggs, although that does not mean they don't eat them. The Rubber Boa (Charina bottae) "Eats small mammals (especially mice, pocket gophers, and shrews), birds, salamanders (including Ensatina and their eggs), and lizards and snakes." Hope that helps.
> 
> David


helps a lot thanks


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## naturejoe (Feb 11, 2009)

*snakes eating eggs*

Most king snakes, milksnakes, and rat snakes will eat eggs.  I used to have a large black rat snake get a few of my chicken eggs from time to time when I lived in NC.  There are also lots of reports of boas in Central and SA eating eggs (and chickens when they get big enough).  I have even read a report or two of Burmese pythons eating eggs in the wild.  I was also involved in a rattlesnake project in college and a small one was found sitting in an empty bird nest.  We thought it was too early in the season to have hatched yet, but I cannot be sure eggs were involved.  It was pretty cool though.


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