I just put a birds egg in his cage.

[celbii]

its one of theose blue ones, http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://198.31.251.176/store/images/ProdImages/egg-10239.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/xq/asp/SID.2/Product_ID.1933/qx/product1.htm&h=239&w=230&sz=15&tbnid=Sf_bvlpBeoUJ:&tbnh=104&tbnw=100&start=7&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblue%2Begg%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3 Doff%26sa%3DG looks liuke that only id say 1 inch, its the first un cracked one and my mom told me to put it in his cage and see if he wants it. what do you guys think? i mean for hecks sake its not like he wouldent eat it in the wild.

[Mary-Beth]

I'm confused by the link. Is the egg something you found outside, or some kind of replica? :shrugs:

[celbii]

I'm confused by the link. Is the egg something you found outside, or some kind of replica? :shrugs:
found outside, you know, with baby bird in it or being developed.

[princess]

celbii, I'd be careful feeding anything that you don't know the source of. It's not a great idea to give your snake an egg that could be off...my 0.02

[Missie]

i agree with that, it is not bright to offer your snake anything that you dont know where its been, or if its aqcuired any diseases etc. etc. Although it may look fun to watch your snake scope out something new, this may make your snake very sick or possibly cause death. not saying this would happen, but it could

[FlaStangBabe]

I'm confused... you found the egg, but where? was it abandoned? because if it was think about why... maybe the mother bird new something about the egg that you dont... it could be bad...
or is it hatched and the bird will die with out the mother?
if this is the case ( i doubt it is) bring it to a wildlife center maybe they can help... and if it isnt hatched yet, bring it to a wild life center... they can work miracles (i think)


and if it wasnt abandond...shame on you for taking a mothers child...( but i doubt tha is the situation as well)

[MegF.]

Are corns egg eaters in the wild? They aren't usually arboreal, so it would have to be a ground nesting bird. The eggs they're eating, if they do, would be fresh, not sitting for who know's how long, rotting.

[countMEout]

In the wild, corn snakes will eat rodents, small lizards and the occasional egg. A captive snake can survive perfectly happily on a diet of raw mice.

http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-32-page-1.html

My advice to giving your snake an egg is one it would be normal for a wild corn snake to be eating this egg however a captive bred that hasn't been outside and is probably not used to the same bacteria etc could be at risk. To my knowledge I think bird eggs carry bacteria possibly salmonella everyones favorite. I wouldn't feed it the egg although I do understand why you would want to.

[Sisuitl]

There are dozens of diseases that are transmitted between birds and reptiles. Also, everyone is right. You don't know how old the egg is or whether it is rotten. I can see why you would want to see your snake eat an egg, but this particular egg is not a good idea. There is a good chance your snake will get really sick from it.

[princess]

Meg, in the wild corns are excellent climbers and their build (long and lean) is a design you see in many tree climbing snakes. I know they'll raid nests and eat the hatchlings but I'm not sure about eggs.

[mbdorfer]

Meg, in the wild corns are excellent climbers and their build (long and lean) is a design you see in many tree climbing snakes. I know they'll raid nests and eat the hatchlings but I'm not sure about eggs.
You are absolutely correct princess. Here in Fla. corns can often be found in trees. They will stay up there for days if there are coachwhips or indigos foraging around, as they are natural predators of corn snakes. I'm sure a hungry corn would take bird eggs, but I certainly wouldn't feed one to a captive. :cheers:

[MegF.]

I know they climb. Mine all climb the branches in their viv. I didn't know that they would spend time up in the trees though. That's very interesting.

[E. g. guttata]

In the wild, corn snakes will eat rodents, small lizards and the occasional egg. A captive snake can survive perfectly happily on a diet of raw mice.

http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-32-page-1.html

My advice to giving your snake an egg is one it would be normal for a wild corn snake to be eating this egg however a captive bred that hasn't been outside and is probably not used to the same bacteria etc could be at risk. To my knowledge I think bird eggs carry bacteria possibly salmonella everyones favorite. I wouldn't feed it the egg although I do understand why you would want to.

As has been stated many times on this forum, our CB corns can handle just about anything that a wild corn can. Why would they not be able to?? Their anscestors have been eating rotten and diseased foods, and very few corns that we have today are more than a few generations removed from some wc specimens. People are constantly out on the look for corns that exibit some of the most amazing colors to breed into their lines and try to accentuate the look. Why is it so hard to believe that these corns we have aren't as frail as we make them out to be??? They aren't ceramic dolls, they are living, breathing creatures that have been in existence for millions of years. Their species has adapted to their way of life. It took hundreds of years to domesticate dogs and guina pigs from wild animals to the pest we have now. 2, 3, or even 10 generations isn't enough time to see the changes of domestication to the point that these snakes will have a hard time handling bacteria from "bad food". This phobia is one of the things that annoys me the most. This phobia is reflected in not only the care of reptiles, but cats, dogs, other animals, and even humans themselves. I have seen many people that have this huge phobia of bacteria that try to clean themselves and everything they get ready to touch to the point that it is unhelathy. I have friends that worry about germs and bactera so much that they refuse to touch something that fell on the floor. These are also the same people that get sick almost on a weekly basis. Cutting out all the bacteria and germs from anything is bad. Eventually, their bodies will have to deal with those bacteria and won't know how to handle them. Then you have a snake getting sick from constantly, and you didn't know that it was because just one time you thawed mice in tap water instead of purified water, or that the tap water you used to clean out the snake's water bowl wisn't entirely evaporated when you filled it back up. GRRRRRR! [/RANT]

I would not suggest giving the egg to your snake though. I have never heard of corns, even in the wild, eating eggs. If someone could please give me a link to this info, I would really like to see it.

[mbdorfer]

I know they climb. Mine all climb the branches in their viv. I didn't know that they would spend time up in the trees though. That's very interesting.
Yeah Meg, it is my belief that they don't take to trees to search for prey as much as they do to escape being prey! Coachwhips are their biggest problem. These snakes are FAST and on the ground a corn would not stand a chance and they know it :wavey:

[mbdorfer]

As has been stated many times on this forum, our CB corns can handle just about anything that a wild corn can. Why would they not be able to?? Their anscestors have been eating rotten and diseased foods, and very few corns that we have today are more than a few generations removed from some wc specimens. People are constantly out on the look for corns that exibit some of the most amazing colors to breed into their lines and try to accentuate the look. Why is it so hard to believe that these corns we have aren't as frail as we make them out to be??? They aren't ceramic dolls, they are living, breathing creatures that have been in existence for millions of years. Their species has adapted to their way of life. It took hundreds of years to domesticate dogs and guina pigs from wild animals to the pest we have now. 2, 3, or even 10 generations isn't enough time to see the changes of domestication to the point that these snakes will have a hard time handling bacteria from "bad food". This phobia is one of the things that annoys me the most. This phobia is reflected in not only the care of reptiles, but cats, dogs, other animals, and even humans themselves. I have seen many people that have this huge phobia of bacteria that try to clean themselves and everything they get ready to touch to the point that it is unhelathy. I have friends that worry about germs and bactera so much that they refuse to touch something that fell on the floor. These are also the same people that get sick almost on a weekly basis. Cutting out all the bacteria and germs from anything is bad. Eventually, their bodies will have to deal with those bacteria and won't know how to handle them. Then you have a snake getting sick from constantly, and you didn't know that it was because just one time you thawed mice in tap water instead of purified water, or that the tap water you used to clean out the snake's water bowl wisn't entirely evaporated when you filled it back up. GRRRRRR! [/RANT]

I would not suggest giving the egg to your snake though. I have never heard of corns, even in the wild, eating eggs. If someone could please give me a link to this info, I would really like to see it.
I agree with most of your post, I think the point here is the questionable found egg. Definitely not a good idea. If I had a corn that was not eating rodents, I would definitely go outside, snatch up some anoles and feed him. I think that wild corns develop a stronger "constitution" than do our captives and thus are more resistant to the bacteria found in "wild prey". Of course this is just my belief. As far as them eating eggs, don't have documentation on that, merely speculation. There is no doubt that they are hardy animals as 5 footers are found from time to time here. The whole thing boils down to keeping them healthy in captivity. You start them out with clean uninfected prey and then you switch to a wild caught lizard and bam! the problems start.
I believe the captive born snakes are more delicate than those born in the wild. Rebuttal Anyone? :cheers:

[pcar]

Yeah Meg, it is my belief that they don't take to trees to search for prey as much as they do to escape being prey! Coachwhips are their biggest problem. These snakes are FAST and on the ground a corn would not stand a chance and they know it :wavey:

I can vouch for the speed and agility of a coachwhip. We have quite a few of the western viarity on our ranch. a couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to capture one. It was "small" at about 5 feet. I was in the middle of taking pictures of it, when it decided it didn't like the sterilite it was in and in the blink of an eye was out of the container and into one of the pantries. Took me about 2 hours to get out. Then, I took it outside to release it, and just as I took my hook away from it, it struck at me, managed to get my sock, and wrapped my leg. again, this happened faster than I thought possible for the size of the snake. it took me about 20- minutes to get it unwrapped and when I put it back down, it finally slithered off. Was the most interesting thing I have been through since I started taking pictures of wild specimins.

[FlaStangBabe]

As has been stated many times on this forum, our CB corns can handle just about anything that a wild corn can. Why would they not be able to?? Their anscestors have been eating rotten and diseased foods, and very few corns that we have today are more than a few generations removed from some wc specimens. People are constantly out on the look for corns that exibit some of the most amazing colors to breed into their lines and try to accentuate the look. Why is it so hard to believe that these corns we have aren't as frail as we make them out to be??? They aren't ceramic dolls, they are living, breathing creatures that have been in existence for millions of years. Their species has adapted to their way of life. It took hundreds of years to domesticate dogs and guina pigs from wild animals to the pest we have now. 2, 3, or even 10 generations isn't enough time to see the changes of domestication to the point that these snakes will have a hard time handling bacteria from "bad food". This phobia is one of the things that annoys me the most. This phobia is reflected in not only the care of reptiles, but cats, dogs, other animals, and even humans themselves. I have seen many people that have this huge phobia of bacteria that try to clean themselves and everything they get ready to touch to the point that it is unhelathy. I have friends that worry about germs and bactera so much that they refuse to touch something that fell on the floor. These are also the same people that get sick almost on a weekly basis. Cutting out all the bacteria and germs from anything is bad. Eventually, their bodies will have to deal with those bacteria and won't know how to handle them. Then you have a snake getting sick from constantly, and you didn't know that it was because just one time you thawed mice in tap water instead of purified water, or that the tap water you used to clean out the snake's water bowl wisn't entirely evaporated when you filled it back up. GRRRRRR! [/RANT]

I would not suggest giving the egg to your snake though. I have never heard of corns, even in the wild, eating eggs. If someone could please give me a link to this info, I would really like to see it.

the thing about their ancestors is that we ( humans) didnt pay good money to keep them. so the risk of them getting sick was not a concern. my snake is a part of my family. i wouldnt feed my child uncooked chicken. why would i feed my beloved pet an unknown egg from the wild? same with my dog or cat...thy cant survive in the wild...so why would i introduce a meal that would be found in the wild to their diets...not to mentioned it would almost be considered a "force feed" your putting something forign in front of the animal... where in the wild there is a broader selection... now dont get me wrong i am not saying "dont touch food that lands on the floor" ( i live by the 5 second rule) but i dont think you should take a domesticated animal ( or even a young child) and put a potental poison in front of them...
( just like when a mother puts the bleach on a high shelf where a baby cant reach, the baby might not touch it if the belach was on the floor...but do you really want to take that chance?)

( my elmo is my baby, i may be a lil sensitive)

[countMEout]

As has been stated many times on this forum, our CB corns can handle just about anything that a wild corn can. Why would they not be able to?? Their anscestors have been eating rotten and diseased foods, and very few corns that we have today are more than a few generations removed from some wc specimens. People are constantly out on the look for corns that exibit some of the most amazing colors to breed into their lines and try to accentuate the look. Why is it so hard to believe that these corns we have aren't as frail as we make them out to be??? They aren't ceramic dolls, they are living, breathing creatures that have been in existence for millions of years. Their species has adapted to their way of life. It took hundreds of years to domesticate dogs and guina pigs from wild animals to the pest we have now. 2, 3, or even 10 generations isn't enough time to see the changes of domestication to the point that these snakes will have a hard time handling bacteria from "bad food". This phobia is one of the things that annoys me the most. This phobia is reflected in not only the care of reptiles, but cats, dogs, other animals, and even humans themselves. I have seen many people that have this huge phobia of bacteria that try to clean themselves and everything they get ready to touch to the point that it is unhelathy. I have friends that worry about germs and bactera so much that they refuse to touch something that fell on the floor. These are also the same people that get sick almost on a weekly basis. Cutting out all the bacteria and germs from anything is bad. Eventually, their bodies will have to deal with those bacteria and won't know how to handle them. Then you have a snake getting sick from constantly, and you didn't know that it was because just one time you thawed mice in tap water instead of purified water, or that the tap water you used to clean out the snake's water bowl wisn't entirely evaporated when you filled it back up. GRRRRRR! [/RANT]

I would not suggest giving the egg to your snake though. I have never heard of corns, even in the wild, eating eggs. If someone could please give me a link to this info, I would really like to see it.


OK you have a baby you keep it in a room its whole life do not allow it to go outside and come into contact with various bacteria fungus etc. So then one day you are like hey lets like bobby go run around outside. Chances are he might get a cold or something else that could kill him. You go to africa before you go i bet nickels to buttons you are going to get some vaccinations so you don't contract any diseases. It is not that the snake cannot handle the food or that i am saying anyone should baby their snakes. I am using logic and obvious evidence there is a good chance that there are somethings the snake never came in contact with. So you run the risk of contamination so thank you. Also bringing a snake outside an area where it isn't indigenous is also a risk as there might be a reason that it does not survive in that area beyond temerpatures as any elm tree will sadly tell you.

"They usually crawl on the ground to eat rats and rodents, but also eat frogs, lizards and bird's eggs."

http://www.dade.k12.fl.us/ohes/Student%20Internet%20Projects/Koeth/Everglades/Rosenfield/RedRatSnakeProject.htm

Random aside the your friends that get sick and don't touch fallen objects it is much more likely they developed this habit because they are for some reason just sickly people(possibly to some level immunosuppressed) So to defend themselves further they avoid these things as they think it will save them from contracting various diseases.

[pcar]

the thing about their ancestors is that we ( humans) didnt pay good money to keep them. so the risk of them getting sick was not a concern. my snake is a part of my family. i wouldnt feed my child uncooked chicken. why would i feed my beloved pet an unknown egg from the wild? same with my dog or cat...thy cant survive in the wild...so why would i introduce a meal that would be found in the wild to their diets...not to mentioned it would almost be considered a "force feed" your putting something forign in front of the animal... where in the wild there is a broader selection... now dont get me wrong i am not saying "dont touch food that lands on the floor" ( i live by the 5 second rule) but i dont think you should take a domesticated animal ( or even a young child) and put a potental poison in front of them...
( just like when a mother puts the bleach on a high shelf where a baby cant reach, the baby might not touch it if the belach was on the floor...but do you really want to take that chance?)

( my elmo is my baby, i may be a lil sensitive)


I have 4 dogs now. All four of them eat dog food, and we care for them. But, they also eat any rats, rabbits, squerils, and what not that they catch outside. They have even been found eating on the dead and rotting carcasses from the cyotes that we trap. So, don't say that Domesticated dogs can't fend for themselves or eat the samething that their wild cousins do.

However, I have to agree with most people here, I would not take wild mice or eggs, because of the risk of them containing poisins. These poisons can be anything from house hold insect spray to comercially used fertilizers and other nasty harmful things. All of these, will kill or make sick almost any animal that comes into contact with them. Thus the warnings on them. The bird egg being discussed in this thread, should be treated wairily as it could have something wrong with it, and thus the mother kicked it out of the nest, or it could have fallen from the nest and then be subjected to things mentioned above. Because of this, I would discard the egg, and watch my snake to make sure that the small amount of exposure to the egg didn't cause any problems.

[cowboyman13]

I am guessing not many of yall every grew up in the country. Yall ever raise chickens out in the yard. You would be amazed at what all you will find eating your eggs. I have personaly watched a 5 foot corn down not one but two large to extra large eggs. I have seen one bigger than that eat a toad the size of my fist. Seeing a corn in the yard in Ga is what made me want one so bad over the years. A corn to my understanding is not all that different than a rat snake. And a rat snake in Ga is called a chicken snake by the ranchers and farmers cause you cant keep em out of the coop. I think a corn like most animals in the wild is an oppurtity feeder and will down what ever is slow enough and right size enough that it feels it can eat.

As far as the post about being too cautious with your animals. Some people go to both extremes. I have seen people who let there pet eat at the kitchen table from the same plate and spoon. I myself have grown up and had in my adult life had animals who lived only off the scraps from dinner and what ever went bad before me and mine could eat it. I have also paid a thousand dollars to save a pup from parvo, and paid to have my ex wifes cat cremated and placed in a 700 dollar urn. Too each is own. I do belive that exposure is the best preventive medicine and use that therory with my kids. When my wife who says its too cold, or hot, or dirty. I agree people over baby there animals. After all your talking about a SNAKE who crawls on the ground through the mud, muck and rain.

[mbdorfer]

[QUOTE=cowboyman13]I am guessing not many of yall every grew up in the country. Yall ever raise chickens out in the yard. You would be amazed at what all you will find eating your eggs. I have personaly watched a 5 foot corn down not one but two large to extra large eggs. I have seen one bigger than that eat a toad the size of my fist. Seeing a corn in the yard in Ga is what made me want one so bad over the years. A corn to my understanding is not all that different than a rat snake. And a rat snake in Ga is called a chicken snake by the ranchers and farmers cause you cant keep em out of the coop. I think a corn like most animals in the wild is an oppurtity feeder and will down what ever is slow enough and right size enough that it feels it can eat.
Cool, I figured they would take eggs, most snakes will. And why yes, corns are indeed Rat Snakes. :cheers:

[MaeglinCalaelen]

they eat eggs, I used to have some birds and somethimes I gave the eggs at my snakes. untill one had an perforated esophagus. I hope I helped you

[pcar]

I am guessing not many of yall every grew up in the country. Yall ever raise chickens out in the yard. You would be amazed at what all you will find eating your eggs. I have personaly watched a 5 foot corn down not one but two large to extra large eggs. I have seen one bigger than that eat a toad the size of my fist. Seeing a corn in the yard in Ga is what made me want one so bad over the years. A corn to my understanding is not all that different than a rat snake. And a rat snake in Ga is called a chicken snake by the ranchers and farmers cause you cant keep em out of the coop. I think a corn like most animals in the wild is an oppurtity feeder and will down what ever is slow enough and right size enough that it feels it can eat.

I live out in the country too. Here in TX we don't have wild Corns, but we do have a lot of Rats. I have removed many a rat snake from our chicken pens, and I have even seen some of the larger rats down hatched chickes. We have a couple of other snakes out here that are routinely in our chicken coops that we have to take care of, and they eat eggs too.

cowboyman13, my father in law does something that I found intersting and had never heard of. Let me know if you have. He blows out the yolk from the eggs, and fills the dried shells with rock salt. Then places these salt eggs in the chicken nests as nest eggs. Not exactly sure what this is supposed to do to snakes and other non wanted animals, but I had never heard of this till I married my wife.

[Mary-Beth]

When my dad was growing up they used marble eggs in the nests to kill the snakes. When I was growing up my dad would catch the snakes and kill them quickly. He might not like the snakes eating the eggs, but he likes long slow deaths even less.

[E. g. guttata]

I appreciate all the replies to my post. Yes, these snakes are part of our families, but they are by no means anywhere near domesticated in most cases. I know my two origional SMR snakes are removed from WC corns by a generation or two. How can one say that domestication occurs within a generation? It took hundresd of years to domesticate dogs, so what makes our snakes special? I do like the comparison to keeping a baby in a sterile room it's entire life, which is essentially what most people do with their corns. This is also (if I did not satet this before) something I have a problem with. Again, you are not exposing the snakes to some of the same things they have to deal with in the wild, and as such, you are weakening them. I try to take my snakes out as much as possible, and even take them outside on occasion. I have also fed them a litter of pink mice I found at one point, with no ill effects I might add. I did this while they were still fairly young and able to adapt to bacteria more easily.

Addressing the "uncooked chicken" scenario with humans. Humans have adapted and changed their food options to their dietary needs. Our anscestors started by eating berries and game animals. Farm fowl was never part of that diet. We have evolved over thousands of years and have developed agrigultrue and farming, adding to our diet. We have also added "harmful" hormones and chemicals to our diets. I don't know if these things are actual harmful (no one has given me documented proof. PETA doesn't count), but they obviously aren't natural. This would be the only reason that I would not feed raw chicken to anyone, not because they are not natural.

Random aside the your friends that get sick and don't touch fallen objects it is much more likely they developed this habit because they are for some reason just sickly people(possibly to some level immunosuppressed) So to defend themselves further they avoid these things as they think it will save them from contracting various diseases.

As far as that comment goes, I have seen some of my friends who almost never got sick convert to the ways ot the bacteria-phobia crowd. They went from almost perfectly healthy all the time, to being sick 3 weeks of the month. I garuntee that if you started getting all anti-bacterial wipes, constantly cleaned everything so you didn't touch germs, isolated all your bodily functions to your own sterile house, and then used one public facility after a period of several months, you too would be sick almost constantly. I also believe that if at that point you stop being bacteria-phobic and expose yourself back to the very things you avoided, your system would revert back to being able to handle these things.

I don't believe in coddling animals just because they are part of the family, just like I don't believe in coddling my own children if and when I have them. Kids will get into things and will hurt themselves. Why try to stop it? They'll learn what they like and don't. Pain is a wonderful teacher.

[cowboyman13]

E. g. - Well said. I couldnt agree more.

[celbii]

well, its been in there for a few days now and he hasent ate it, it looks liked he moved it once so i took it out today,but yeah these small eggs fall out our tress all the time from the wind and this was just first uncracked one ive ever found. my snake east 3 pinkies every saturday, so he dosent have a problem with feeding at all :)

[Bright Scale]

It took hundresd of years to domesticate dogs

I think the number you're looking for is "thousands". Even cave-people had dogs. ;)