Ratsnakes eating eggs?

I have backyard chickens and own a ratsnake. I often see people sharing how they find ratsnakes in their chicken coops enjoying the eggs. Some chicken owners actually let those snakes eat the eggs, even leaving an "offering" when collecting eggs, because they find their pest control services very useful. I don't live in an area with native ratsnakes, but I do have a captive one as a pet.

So . . . does anyone who owns a pet ratsnake ever feed them eggs? Is this even healthy for them? Just curious.

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I'm sure that hungry wild rat snakes steal some bird eggs but not many could actually down a chicken egg, they're too big. I suppose my 7' male FL-blend rat snakes could do so, but I've never offered them eggs & have no plans to do so. Most (raw) chicken eggs can transfer salmonella so I'd not be inclined to try it for that reason alone.

Wild gopher-bull-& pine snakes are somewhat notorious for stealing chicken eggs from hen-houses. My sister used to raise chickens & occasionally found a rotund gopher snake that had slinked into the barn for breakfast, then was too fat (full of eggs!) to leave without her opening the door & chasing him out. Talk about embarrassing! :rofl:

Apparently snakes can digest egg shells alright, but the African egg-eating snakes have a specialized projection in their throat for puncturing the eggs they ingest, & apparently are then able to swallow only the contents of the eggs, & "spit-out" the shells. I don't know how successful they are at all times however, since snakes really cannot cough or anything- apparently this puncturing of the egg shells takes place more or less at the back of their mouth, not so far down?

And keep in mind how easily the shells of wild birds are crumbled- they're nothing like domestic chicken egg shells that are quite hard to break, otherwise they'd never get to market. I actually think that if a pet snake swallowed a chicken egg, it might end up cutting up their insides by the pieces of eggshell before it had time to be digested, so for that reason I'd recommend that no one try this.

I haven't yet, I'm wanting to get ahold of some quail eggs for my japanese rat snake but am having some trouble locating any. Japanese rat snakes have a special vertebrae that cracks egg shells, so its probably a good idea to provide something that they're specialized for. She does eat mice and baby quail eagerly enough.

Right now, she's way too small to handle chicken eggs. I don't know if she'll ever be big enough for them. Little noodle.

I would not feed them eggs because it doesn't fit the body size limit that everyone uses to determine what size prey to feed them unless you have an abnormally huge rat snake lol.

As always, a very interesting discussion! I wonder about the ones that eat eggs and if the shells hurt them. I figure they can digest bones, but egg shells are sharp!

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I'm sure that hungry wild rat snakes steal some bird eggs but not many could actually down a chicken egg, they're too big. ...

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A 4 and half footer will eat chicken/duck eggs with ease.

5 and 6 footers will eat adult grey squirrels.

Yep we have some 5-6 foot adult female wild eastern black rats living in the area. They would take a chicken egg and ask for more.

If you raise birds or know somebody that does, you know the answer. Yes, backyard flock owners will leave an egg or two on the ground. This is because it’s not fun reaching under a bird an finding a hungry biting noodle.

Even small corn snakes will climb into nesting boxes for a snack. Depends on the size of the birds.

The fun snakes get in an then can’t get out after eating. Then the kids get a friend for a day or two.

Then you have young snakes that think they can eat a bird. Lost several Silkies that way.

Backyard eggs come in all sizes. An a Granny egg from a chicken looks like a jelly bean.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Yep we have some 5-6 foot adult female wild eastern black rats living in the area. They would take a chicken egg and ask for more.

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I don't doubt that wild snakes can pull this off- hunger is a powerful motivator. It's just not a risk I'd take with my pets.

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Originally Posted by Starscream

I haven't yet, I'm wanting to get ahold of some quail eggs for my japanese rat snake but am having some trouble locating any. Japanese rat snakes have a special vertebrae that cracks egg shells, so its probably a good idea to provide something that they're specialized for. She does eat mice and baby quail eagerly enough.

Right now, she's way too small to handle chicken eggs. I don't know if she'll ever be big enough for them. Little noodle.

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I was going to mention this species being adapted for egg-eating as well. In the Trans-Pecos rat snake book by Dusty Rhoads, it does say that they eat eggs as well (saying they have taken them in captivity, I think?). I would be nervous feeding a larger egg (like a chicken egg) to anything smaller than an adult Eastern Indigo snake lol, but I do know some wild rat snakes eat chicken eggs.

I was surprised to see quail eggs at my Publix, but I think it is a seasonal offering (their entire inventory changes for the snowbird residents and they carry more esoteric food then).

With a sad heart I have come to say that Noodle passed away this morning. She was a sweet 4 year old snake. I'm not sure if it was the egg I gave her (it was a small egg from my small chicken), and she's eaten a couple of them before with no issues, but she died just a few days after giving her this egg. She did not appear to digest this one like the others. It might be that the egg was too hard-shelled, or she had some illness that made her unable to digest it. Either way I feel awful and sad. She was my favorite buddy.

I had seen ratsnakes in the wild raid chicken coops and eat several and come back for more. I even talked to my pre-vet student daughter this morning, who is studying at a university that has an exotic/wild animal vet department. She talked to them and got back to me that the egg "should not have" caused her death, but she was a domesticated snake so maybe she was not set up to handle it like a wild one would have. Or, she just had some underlying weakness or problem.

So, I will now say it's probably not a good idea to feed your pet snake eggs unless they are the kind that naturally eat them (there is some kind of egg eating snake out there that only eats them).

We have buried her in our rose garden and planted a peachy colored rose bush on top of her that reflects her pretty colors.

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Originally Posted by FollowTheSun

With a sad heart I have come to say that Noodle passed away this morning. She was a sweet 4 year old snake. I'm not sure if it was the egg I gave her (it was a small egg from my small chicken), and she's eaten a couple of them before with no issues, but she died just a few days after giving her this egg. She did not appear to digest this one like the others. It might be that the egg was too hard-shelled, or she had some illness that made her unable to digest it. Either way I feel awful and sad. She was my favorite buddy.

I had seen ratsnakes in the wild raid chicken coops and eat several and come back for more. I even talked to my pre-vet student daughter this morning, who is studying at a university that has an exotic/wild animal vet department. She talked to them and got back to me that the egg "should not have" caused her death, but she was a domesticated snake so maybe she was not set up to handle it like a wild one would have. Or, she just had some underlying weakness or problem.

So, I will now say it's probably not a good idea to feed your pet snake eggs unless they are the kind that naturally eat them (there is some kind of egg eating snake out there that only eats them).

We have buried her in our rose garden and planted a peachy colored rose bush on top of her that reflects her pretty colors.

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I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for the update.

I know how much you loved this rat snake & I'm just sick about you losing her at such a young adult age & in otherwise good captive-bred health. :tears:

Rest in Peace, Noodle

So sorry for your loss. Try not to blame yourself because there are so many other things that could’ve caused the death. Certainly “sudden death” tops the list and is most times unexplained. Also, chicken eggs are in the food chain of all rat snakes and it’s less likely that it was that. Don’t let this deter you from getting back into keeping another reptile. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

So sorry for your loss. Try not to blame yourself because there are so many other things that could’ve caused the death. Certainly “sudden death” tops the list and is most times unexplained. Also, chicken eggs are in the food chain of all rat snakes and it’s less likely that it was that. Don’t let this deter you from getting back into keeping another reptile. Thanks.

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Personally, I'd still avoid the risk of feeding chicken eggs to snakes, & I have domestic rat snakes that are more than "big enough". Domestic chickens raised as pets or for egg production have very thick shells, and those shells are very sharp when broken. They can do lethal internal damage before digestive enzymes are able to work & the more graphic description of the snake's symptoms privately shared with me do suggest this is what happened. I urge anyone to think twice before offering a chicken egg to their snake- I personally would never take that chance, even if it sometimes seems to have been okay. (Unfortunately a necropsy was not done so all we have are "best guesses".)

Just a reminder that African egg-eating snakes have a special adaptation that allows them to puncture the eggs they consume, & they also evolved the ability to spit out the broken shells. While many snakes in the wild (notably rat snakes & bull/gopher/pine snakes) do prey on eggs, we don't necessarily see the "rest of the story" for what happens days later when they eat domestic chicken eggs as opposed to the much-thinner-shelled eggs of wild birds. What wild snakes that are desperate for food are willing to do should not be a guide for what we give our pets, should it?

Remember that a snake's digestive enzymes also require warmth to digest well. Any of us that have kept snakes for a while realize that snakes don't always follow "the rules" after eating- some of them head for the cooler areas. It occurs to me that might also have been a factor here- but we'll never know. African egg-eating snakes don't digest the eggshells- they regurgitate them. And we all know that our snakes are not "good at" regurgitating- they can die from aspirating (into their lung) even a normal rodent meal. Please don't risk your pets life with chicken eggs.