Although many snakes can and do eat eggs, most survive by eating other live prey as well. Only the Indian egg-eating snake (Elachistodon westermanni) and the African egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis) have the specific biological makeup necessary to survive on bird eggs alone.

The Indian egg-eating snake is extremely rare, so the most common African egg-eating snake is the type usually kept as a pet. There are several species of African egg-eating snake; the most common kept as a pet is the rhomboid egg-eating snake or common egg-eating snake (Dasypeltis scabra).

All members of both groups are non-venomous and have adapted to living in places with lots of birds (to provide enough eggs for their diet). Many of these snakes are relatively common, but there are some species that are quite rare!

How big is an African egg-eating snake? How long do they live?

Egg eaters are fairly small. Females will grow to be about two to three feet, but males are smaller. This is a huge factor in determining the size of the eggs they eat, as many eggs, including chicken eggs, will be too large for them.

Assuming the snake is treated well, a pet snake that eats eggs is likely to live longer than a wild snake and may live for over ten years, although this will depend on a number of factors including whether it is fed the correct type and size of egg, how good the snake’s appetite is and how often it is fed, the state of its living conditions, and whether it becomes ill.

When we think of snakes, we usually think of them as carnivorous predators that kill small animals through constriction or venom. For most snakes, that would be true, but not for all. There is a group of snakes known as “egg-eating snakes” that have evolved to live exclusively on bird eggs. Imagining a snake swallowing an egg three times its width is pretty comical, but it really does exist in nature! Today we will learn and discover all about these egg-eating snakes and get to know their full history. Maybe you will learn something new!