are grocery store eggs safe for snakes?

[Grizla]

i have young rat snake (57 grams) and i was thinking that since rat snakes do sometimes rob nests, it'd be neat to see if he'd eat a quail egg. but i mentioned it to my cousin and she made the very good point that the shells might have been cleaned with mystery chemicals:Wow: so i thought i'd better ask y'all- have you ever had that sort of problem with eggs? is it something to worry about?:confused:

[RAD House]

If they are safe for human consumption then they should be safe for your snake. I would probably give them a good rinse off before attempting to feed them.

[dannybgoode]

We generally don't eat the shell though... :)

[Doug 351]

We generally don't eat the shell though... :)

True, but , although I can't speak with authority on this, I would imagine all they do is rinse and bleach bath the shells to combat any bacteria possibly present.

I don't know about anybody else, but I fill my snakes water bowl with city tapwater ( which is LOADED with chlorine!).... plus, I drink the stuff!

We would probably be better off if we ate the shell too!

[Psyrocke]

And I'm not sure about quail, but we also generally cook them (though I know some people do do the raw egg in the morning for muscle building or something) which helps to eliminate some of the potential risks.

[Doug 351]

BTW: I have never gotten my wild Texas ratsnake to touch an egg of any size.

I caught a full grown, wild Texas ratsnake, that slurped up whole chicken eggs like candy.

I hope you can get your baby eating eggs, because they are a very economical supplement to a rodent diet.

[Doug 351]

And I'm not sure about quail, but we also generally cook them (though I know some people do do the raw egg in the morning for muscle building or something) which helps to eliminate some of the potential risks.

I've eaten THOUSANDS of raw eggs. I'm still alive.

[Psyrocke]

I've eaten THOUSANDS of raw eggs. I'm still alive.

I don't doubt that people who eat raw eggs are still alive, a friend of mine in college is in the Marines and he ate a raw egg shake every morning. I was just saying in general, more people eat eggs cooked than raw.

[RAD House]

Cooking wit the shell on would more than like cause any toxin to seep into the egg not get rid of it. We don't eat egg shell because it is not pleasant, not because we can't.

[REM955]

Extra Question: What species would eat these eggs? I was under the impression that eggs were more for specialty predators.

[Doug 351]

No...ratsnakes are generally dispositioned to eat eggs, rob bird nests for both eggs AND baby birds. Of course, they also eat their namesake rats ( or mice).

[Doug 351]

Google up eggs and ratsnakes....they are egg robbing fiends!

But.... Back to the original question, I wouldn't worry for one second to give anything " fit for human consumption " to a snake....

An adult can go for MONTHS without water and at LEAST a year without food.

A human is dead in DAYS!.....Just saying....

[Grizla]

wow! thanks for all the quick replies! i'm definitely going to pick up some quail eggs the next i'm at the Asian grocery and let you know how it goes! for a CB snake he's super feisty, so maybe some of those natural feeding instincts are still strong.

[Doug 351]

I hope so...because, I don't care where you are ( unless it's EXTREMELY crazy)... the grocery store is closer than the rat supplier).

Having said that, I am fortunate enough to live within driving distance of "The Big Cheese Rodent Factory".

I'm not here to try to promote anyone's business. The Big Cheese IS. ....HOWEVER, an awesome supplier.

The only problem is their crazy shipping charges. ( Which I don't have to deai with!!!! Nanny Nanny boo boo.....

Just kidding...but it is SWEET to have one of the best suppliers in the Country in my backyard!

[Doug 351]

You know what? I just had an epiphany!!! I could buy feeders at cheap prices, markup reasonably, And still come out ahead!

[Grizla]

i've been looking at rodentPro and even with the shipping the price was very reasonable, especially if you fill up your box. in any case eggs wouldn't be replacing a rodent diet- they'd just be an occasional meal, for variety and my own amusement.

[Tsubaki]

The one thing I do not understand, why would eggs be rinsed / washed at all? Woulndt that wash off their natural protection? Woulndt you be left with more perishable eggs that need refrigeration? The eggs in any market here are unwashed.

[dannybgoode]

My only other concern would be if the quails are pumped fill of growth hormones, antibiotics etc.

I know next to nothing about commercial quail eggs so have no idea of the practices here but I'd at least check.

[Grizla]

The one thing I do not understand, why would eggs be rinsed / washed at all? Woulndt that wash off their natural protection? Woulndt you be left with more perishable eggs that need refrigeration? The eggs in any market here are unwashed.


you are correct that eggs are much safer and last longer unrefrigerated when they haven't been washed, but unfortunately america's food production/protection systems are so backwards that very little of it makes sense.

[Tsubaki]

Oh, that's a shame.. Bit like the raw milk thing I guess.

[eminart]

There's a good chance your snake won't eat grocery store eggs because most of the fowl smell (get it?) has been washed off. I don't know for sure. I do know of people who use eggs to bait snake traps and they'll only use fresh, farm eggs for this reason.

[jay's reptiles]

dude..... if you only lived by me. i would give you eggs for years. As my chickens are laying about 10 eggs a day.

[Skipper7]

Not sure where you live, but perhaps you could try something like Whole Foods and look for organic eggs to avoid antibiotics and such.

[GyGbeetle]

My family eats egg shells when I cook eggs....

If there is an organic farm close to you, that might be a consideration instead of grocery store bought. I'm not sure I 100% agree with the philosophy that if it's good for human consumption, it's also good for snake consumption. Snakes have an entirely different metabolism that mammals, and they don't have the same filtration organs that humans have, so toxins tend to build up quicker. If you know for sure you can buy organic, no pesticides, at your local grocery store, that would be my personal option. that's just my 2 cents worth.

[Doug 351]

My family eats egg shells when I cook eggs....

If there is an organic farm close to you, that might be a consideration instead of grocery store bought. I'm not sure I 100% agree with the philosophy that if it's good for human consumption, it's also good for snake consumption. Snakes have an entirely different metabolism that mammals, and they don't have the same filtration organs that humans have, so toxins tend to build up quicker. If you know for sure you can buy organic, no pesticides, at your local grocery store, that would be my personal option. that's just my 2 cents worth.

Part of this is true. I poisoned my place because a neighbor had let a serious rat infestation get out of hand. Now, the poison worked as a blood thinner, and more specifically, an anti-coagulant. A wild Texas ratsnake showed up and cleaned up the dead leftovers.

Never found any dead rats or snakes!!! Draw your own conclusions.

[akane]

When eggs are farm collected they contain a natural protective coating and if the person isn't stupid about egg handling they can be left on counters for weeks or the fridge for months with no harm and perfectly safe for all things that can digest egg. Store bought eggs are way different and it doesn't matter what they are labelled. For health requirements the eggs have to be specially washed and then because it takes the protective coating off they put a fake coating back on. I want to say this is harmless wax based substance but who knows. Many are extra careful using egg shell from store eggs with washing and baking them in the oven or simply don't and buy quality bone meal when looking for natural supplements for various animals. The way the hens are kept commercially, the way the eggs are handled, the transport conditions, and their age make it far more likely you will get ill from store bought eggs (irregardless of the "free range", "organic", whatever label which are nearly all inaccurate anyway). Getting an egg wet actually makes it more likely to push bacteria into the egg or at least allow it in the egg and if the water temp is off that makes it more likely since egg shells are designed to be permeable and allow air and moisture in and out. If the temp is greatly different inside versus outside the air space will expand or contract creating pressure or a vacuum. Actually makes it easy to peel a hot egg right after boiling because you can shrink the contents real quick with cold water if you can peel them fast enough. It was the only way I got cleanly peeled quail eggs.

I have fed my bull snake cockatiel eggs. The hen just keeps popping them out despite shortened light times or other things that normally reduce laying and even if I leave them one or both of the pair seem to be infertile. They just dry out eventually if left to sit around. I found even farm collected chicken eggs in the fridge for a year didn't rot. They dried out and you had a barely moist enough to be sticky yolk glued to the inside of the shell. I wait till she gets done laying and starts sitting or they will keep laying constantly and then collect them (with injury) and feed to things. In a few weeks to about a month she starts again and I get another ~4. Many gopher and rat snake species/subspecies are horrible egg thieves. Big bull snakes will take full chicken eggs but I didn't find a captive snake that interested. They have to be quite small compared to the snake, still smell like the birds, and during a period they are really motivated to eat. Unfamiliar to the food without fresh bird smelling eggs that are a size well below what they could normally swallow your snake would probably risk starvation first. When I first tried to feed the eggs they should have been easy for him to swallow but he closed his jaws on them and was just confused. It did not squish to bite or work for constricting. He gained another foot length and was wanting to inhale everything he came across for the spring before he started eating some. I think he ignored the last 2 though for a digging spree on his cave again and I need to find them in case they pull enough moisture from the bioactive soil to actually go rotten instead of dehydrate harmlessly.

[Ronin]

You know what? I just had an epiphany!!! I could buy feeders at cheap prices, markup reasonably, And still come out ahead!

Don't forget shipping ;)

[eminart]

If you know for sure you can buy organic, no pesticides,


Just so you know, organic doesn't mean no pesticides. In fact, organic tends to use more pesticides.

The Biggest Myth About Organic Farming | RealClearScience (http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/06/the_biggest_myth_about_organic_farming.html)

[GyGbeetle]

The FDA is very liberal when they call something "organic", and some "organic" pesticides used in the farming industry often times can be worse than the manufactured pesticides. This is important, especially for free range chickens/foul, because those pesticides are used in the ground soil where the animals are being fed. They get ingested, and they are then transferred to the eggs.

I agree, if you have a farm close by, that will be your best bet. I use store bought for my family because honestly, mammals are a much more robust species and can handle a certain amount of trace pesticides much more effectively than other animals. I do my best to make sure it's organic, but even that's a falsehood here in the states because of what the FDA considers organic. Free trade markets are your best bet for sure; even the organic pesticides are designed to allow for replenishment of soil in order to continue growing crops in years to come.

[akane]

The labels on eggs and poultry really are pointless. The requirements are so lax to meet them and the alternatives may be even worse either for your health or the birds' health. It seems great to get birds out of a cages and "free range" but instead they are crammed on floors where they can see a patch of outdoors, that meets requirements, and are more likely to injure each other than when individually caged. Chickens are fairly violent and when they see blood or a bald patch of skin they will obsess over it (red attracts them) until they actually eat the bird alive. They don't gain much at all and they have an even greater risk of injury while conditions are harder to keep up to commercial sanitation standards so stronger cleaner is required. Arguably it's not even an improvement. Commercially farmers would have to raise prices a lot to maintain truly better conditions than any other carton of eggs or chicken is or experiences. It's mostly a waste of your money and don't trust any of it for increased safety of your animals. Go find a local farmer.