Feeding quail eggs

Cmwells90 · 07-26-13, 06:57 PM

So I just got a new Snow corn snake from a friend. He's healthy and eating just fine. I've been reading online about feeding them quail eggs. Me and my GF are very interested in this because I've never had a snake that eats eggs. My concern is storing them, how long can you have one before it needs to be discarded, or theoretically it hatched. Are there any ways to slow down this process, like storing in the fridge?

Also He only eats every couple weeks, and I've read they're not as nutritious as mice or rats are. However I'd like to offer a variety for him like he would be allowed in the wild. So should I feed him just one egg and a rat, or multiple eggs, or maybe feed him more often and just smaller portions. Just want to make sure he's being cared for properly!

Hannibalcanibal · 07-26-13, 08:09 PM

You don't need to offer a variety, and good luck getting it to eat eggs. It was not designed for eggs(so say it did eat one, i would not expect it to be too healthy). Just rats and mice. So stick with rodents, It's the best thing for your snake, and for you since frozen rodents are easy to get unlike quail eggs, and live is pretty easy to get, too. So do what you want, but rodents are the best for the snake.

Cmwells90 · 07-26-13, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hannibalcanibal

It was not designed for eggs

It's my understanding that adult Corn Snakes will consume eggs as a part of their diet, as well a varieties are good for any animal as this is normal for them in the wild.

There are many articles that talk about feeding them quail eggs as a treat. (What can corn snakes eat This just being one of them).

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it's just something I'm looking in to trying and I was wondering if anyone else here has stored them and for how long.

Hannibalcanibal · 07-27-13, 06:53 AM

And i'll consume a whole tub thing of butter if i get hungry enough, that does not mean it's healthy. I would also not get advice from anonymous websites or boards that do not specialise in reptiles, just because they do not usually have the passion and experience that boards like this one have, because it is mostly just novices who see your question while browsing through the board, and then think "hey, i owned a leopard gecko five years ago, i can answer this!".

If you really want to feed eggs, make sure they have a whole chick inside them, as this is the closest they can get to a whole prey item.

But honestly, corn snakes eat mostly rodents in the wild anyway, and most captive corn snakes in the last twenty+ (to my knowledge) years have only been fed rodents, then their offspring fed rodents, then their offspring's offspring's rodents, etc.

I understand your idea that a varied diet is best (but this does not hold true for specialised feeders like snakes), but in captivity if you can give them a diet that has everything they need, it is the best diet you can give them. That is a rodent diet.

smy_749 · 07-27-13, 07:17 AM

Corns in the wild will absolutely feed on eggs of birds should they come across them. Just make sure the eggs are fertile, they don't need to have a whole chick inside of them either. Also why is an egg not a whole prey item?

The only issue with variety as some members qoute, is that he may prefer one item to another and decide to become a picky eater.

Hannibalcanibal · 07-27-13, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smy_749

Corns in the wild will absolutely feed on eggs of birds should they come across them. Just make sure the eggs are fertile, they don't need to have a whole chick inside of them either. Also why is an egg not a whole prey item?

The only issue with variety as some members qoute, is that he may prefer one item to another and decide to become a picky eater.

Well, i was always under the impression that since the egg is not developed, it is not "whole", in the sense that there are no bones to digest and no developed organs with whole proteins and structures. Correct me if i'm wrong, but i was always told that the only healthy egg for a herp is a whole, developed egg.

Another issue i have is digestion- have you ever seen an egg eater eat? they puke the shell back up, as it is not easily digestible, and i doubt a corn has the correct mechanism (or knowledge/instinct) to do this. Again, correct me if i'm wrong, but this was also another issue i found (basically i don't know if a corn can digest some parts of the shell).

You can feed it eggs, like i have said, but i would just stick with rodents (or even whole chicks), as it is easier, probably healthier (from my knowledge), and less of a risk of it becoming a egg-only feeder.

UwabamiReptiles · 07-27-13, 10:30 AM

Snakes can and do eat eggs in the wild. They have no problems with digesting them. There is nothing wrong with adding variety to a snake's diet. If you do decide to try the eggs, I would suggest only givg them occasionally or with a mouse or rat so they do get a nutritionally complete meal. I've actually wanted to try the quail eggs with my old world rats. Just havent gotten around to it. I personally like giving my snakes a varied diet, I give my carpets chicks and older quail every so often. Never had an issue. My advice if you do try the eggs is to not just feed the eggs by themselves like I mentioned before.

Cmwells90 · 07-27-13, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smy_749

Just make sure the eggs are fertile.

Of course, I'm already aware that it has to be fertile and that quail eggs are the best because of their size. My only concern is how long can you store a fertile egg for? I've found a pack of 8 fertilized, however I don't want to fed him 8 for a month straight as it wont be very healthy for him, I want to offer a mix of mice and rats too, but I don't want the eggs to go bad.

Not to be rude Hannibalcanibal, but I'm aware that they can eat eggs, and that it has to be fertile. I'm not talking about feeding him a normal chicken egg from Walmart. This whole post revolves around storing fertile quail eggs, I have plenty of reptile experience and not all of my knowledge comes from the internet, I have friends who offer quail eggs to their Corns, but they have enough snakes to use a whole batch and they don't have to store the eggs. My original question was how can I go about storing them, and for how long. Spitting out the shell is normal because it's too difficult to digest, they'll just consume the insides, and cleanup has to be done right away.

I understand the snake deciding to become a picky eater, but this is not something I'm going to do every week, more like a treat every couple of months, just for variety.

Hannibalcanibal · 07-27-13, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cmwells90

Of course, I'm already aware that it has to be fertile and that quail eggs are the best because of their size. My only concern is how long can you store a fertile egg for? I've found a pack of 8 fertilized, however I don't want to fed him 8 for a month straight as it wont be very healthy for him, I want to offer a mix of mice and rats too, but I don't want the eggs to go bad.

Not to be rude Hannibalcanibal, but I'm aware that they can eat eggs, and that it has to be fertile. I'm not talking about feeding him a normal chicken egg from Walmart. This whole post revolves around storing fertile quail eggs, I have plenty of reptile experience and not all of my knowledge comes from the internet, I have friends who offer quail eggs to their Corns, but they have enough snakes to use a whole batch and they don't have to store the eggs. My original question was how can I go about storing them, and for how long. Spitting out the shell is normal because it's too difficult to digest, they'll just consume the insides, and cleanup has to be done right away.

I understand the snake deciding to become a picky eater, but this is not something I'm going to do every week, more like a treat every couple of months, just for variety.

Yes, i understand the spitting out the shell part, i was just not sure if corns could do it. Anyhow, a quail egg every couple of months is probably fine, but i agree it should be fed with a rodent.

I don't see why snakes need treats though. if they can do fine on just rodents, then a "treat" should be unnecessary.

Anyhow, if it's a fertile quail egg, and it is only every few months, and if it does not replace the rodent in the feeding, it should be fine. I just don't see why you would want to do it in the first place

**Aaron_S** · 07-27-13, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cmwells90

Of course, I'm already aware that it has to be fertile and that quail eggs are the best because of their size. My only concern is how long can you store a fertile egg for? I've found a pack of 8 fertilized, however I don't want to fed him 8 for a month straight as it wont be very healthy for him, I want to offer a mix of mice and rats too, but I don't want the eggs to go bad.

Not to be rude Hannibalcanibal, but I'm aware that they can eat eggs, and that it has to be fertile. I'm not talking about feeding him a normal chicken egg from Walmart. This whole post revolves around storing fertile quail eggs, I have plenty of reptile experience and not all of my knowledge comes from the internet, I have friends who offer quail eggs to their Corns, but they have enough snakes to use a whole batch and they don't have to store the eggs. My original question was how can I go about storing them, and for how long. Spitting out the shell is normal because it's too difficult to digest, they'll just consume the insides, and cleanup has to be done right away.

I understand the snake deciding to become a picky eater, but this is not something I'm going to do every week, more like a treat every couple of months, just for variety.

I'd love video of these snakes consuming eggs since apparently it's so common.

I don't get why people have to re-invent the wheel in this hobby. Corns have lived fine on rodents since the 50's!

Interesting you mention the egg shell being spit out. The egg eating snake to my knowledge actually breaks the egg shell with it's spine, it's evolved to do so, and then spits it out. I could be wrong but I believe it's actually been designed to do this on a regular basis.

Also, I wouldn't use "wiki.answers.com" for anything. I can edit it if I wish. JUST read in that link that babies start with CRICKETS! FAIL SOURCE!

If you were experienced in reptiles you'd have seen this and realized it's a poop source.

Hannibalcanibal · 07-27-13, 05:17 PM

^exactly what i was getting at. now that you mention the spine thing, i know how it works, and i know that corns probably cannot do that. I also agree strongly that we don't need to reinvent what gives us healthy, happy captives.

And, i agree that sites like that are not good for reptile info. It's more morons not knowing what they are doing than actual experienced reptile keepers.

Cmwells90 · 07-27-13, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

I'd love video of these snakes consuming eggs since apparently it's so common.

You can actually find many videos on Youtube of Corn snakes eating eggs, I'm not saying these are educated pros, just that they do exist. The wiki link was just the first link I found to prove my point, never said it was a primary source for knowledge. If you look at many Zoo's they provide a variety of animals for their reptiles if it's available. Like offering quail every once and a while. We all raise our snakes differently, and I like to give mine a variety. This was never meant to be a post about techniques or whether they should be fed eggs or not.

Hannibalcanibal · 07-27-13, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cmwells90

You can actually find many videos on Youtube of Corn snakes eating eggs, I'm not saying these are educated pros, just that they do exist. The wiki link was just the first link I found to prove my point, never said it was a primary source for knowledge. If you look at many Zoo's they provide a variety of animals for their reptiles if it's available. Like offering quail every once and a while. We all raise our snakes differently, and I like to give mine a variety. This was never meant to be a post about techniques or whether they should be fed eggs or not.

Meh. I've seen videos on youtube of people feeding rats and mice (grown ones, too) to leopard geckos. Not somewhere i would take info from. (responsible) Zoos also do not usually provide variety to snakes btw. I got right into one once...just rats.

Why would you even want to feed eggs in the first place? I understand that different people keep snakes different ways (i.e some people feed live, some frozen/thawed), but you do not need to, as Aaron put it, "reinvent the wheel". Rats are good, mice are good, quail is good. Eggs are not usually considered good for most snakes, especially corns.

You said that you want to make sure it is being cared for properly in your first post... and your interest and posting on the forum proves that. But it's a bit pointless to feed eggs, when it can be cared for perfectly fine on a rodent diet. I'd not feed eggs if it were my snake, and that's the advice i'd give to you.

Feeding things other than rodents is opening up pandora's box.... just stick with mice and rats. It's good for your snake.

marvelfreak · 07-27-13, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

I'd love video of these snakes consuming eggs since apparently it's so common.

Unfortunately it's true but it doesn't mean it's good for them.

corn snakes eating eggs - YouTube

But hey i guess if all the other slow people in the world are doing it it must be ok.

NOT!

**Aaron_S** · 07-28-13, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvelfreak

Unfortunately it's true but it doesn't mean it's good for them.

corn snakes eating eggs - YouTube

But hey i guess if all the other slow people in the world are doing it it must be ok.

NOT!

Well I'll be damned.

I don't believe they break the shell though. I watched the dove egg being fed. I know why I dislike this prey item. The snake needed help in swallowing it! If it can't do it on it's own it's probably not a good idea...

But whatever...you and wiki and youtube know best. Even if it's not a good "primary source" why would you even use it to prove your point then? That's like putting the wrong answer on the test purely because it was the first thing you wrote down.