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Urgent! Want to know if it's safe to feed store bought eggs to a 3yr old corn snake?

If anything a quail egg would be of the right size... but why would you want to feed your snake an egg? They get all the nutrition they really need from eating mice...
 
If anything a quail egg would be of the right size... but why would you want to feed your snake an egg? They get all the nutrition they really need from eating mice...

Do they? or do we just think they do? In the wild they eat many many things, from live and dead mice to rats to lizards to small birds to eggs.

To the OP, I do not think you would have any health related problems with feeding eggs. The reason I would not do it, is because the mess it would leave behind the snake when it poos. If you do do it, make sure you do like Jeff suggested and let the egg get up to room temp before you feed it. It may also be advantageous to try quail eggs, or bantam chicken eggs, if you can get them. Also, like Jeff said, you may want to look into day old chicks or quail from some place like Rodent Pro, I think they have day old chicks for $.12/each right now.
 
I don't know...I just didn't realize that they got all the nutrition from the mice that they needed from eating them. And I remember reading it in a corn snake book that they do eat birds eggs on occasion and thought it wouldn't hurt to feed her one or two a month. Mostly as a treat but also thought it would have more nutritional value and stuff in it that mice didn't have that might help her with the shedding process. But as I have found out now I will not be feeding her any birds eggs weather or not store bought or wild birds eggs or farmed quail eggs or etc.... since it seems that they do not actually have any more nutritional value then the mice do. I just want to say thanks to everyone for their suggestions, thoughts, and tips on this subject. I will instead be trying to figure out what else to do to help her in the shedding process. I will start with soaking her in lukewarm water for 10-20min and see if that helps. If that doesn't seem to help much then I will probably get a nesting box with some moist moss in it and use it to see if that does any good and maybe buy some snake oil or something to allow her to do it completely on her own without any assistance from me. Thanks again!
 
I don't know...I just didn't realize that they got all the nutrition from the mice that they needed from eating them. And I remember reading it in a corn snake book that they do eat birds eggs on occasion and thought it wouldn't hurt to feed her one or two a month. Mostly as a treat but also thought it would have more nutritional value and stuff in it that mice didn't have that might help her with the shedding process. But as I have found out now I will not be feeding her any birds eggs weather or not store bought or wild birds eggs or farmed quail eggs or etc.... since it seems that they do not actually have any more nutritional value then the mice do. I just want to say thanks to everyone for their suggestions, thoughts, and tips on this subject. I will instead be trying to figure out what else to do to help her in the shedding process. I will start with soaking her in lukewarm water for 10-20min and see if that helps. If that doesn't seem to help much then I will probably get a nesting box with some moist moss in it and use it to see if that does any good and maybe buy some snake oil or something to allow her to do it completely on her own without any assistance from me. Thanks again!

I doubt feeding eggs will help the shedding process, but as far as nutrition, eggs are considered the "perfect" protein source, and could definitely provide nutrients or micro nutrients that a diet of mice misses. As far as the shedding issue, I would just make sure that the water bowl is adequately filled and the snake has a humid hide, when ever you notice it about to shed.
 
I dunno... I've always just fed mice,my parents always fed their snakes mice and they've lived long healthy lives... I mean I guess you might find some other nutrients but nothing that your snake couldn't live without and yes eggs are definitely on the messy side :p
If you want to help your snake shed without you having to pick at it or anything, try misting the tank with water once a day while your snake is in the shed process. I use "Zilla: Tropical Mist" ($10 at Petland) once a day on mine after their eyes start to cloud over.
 
There is one medical reason not to feed chicken eggs to anything raw and that is Salmonella. Chickens are a greater source for that particular nasty over any herp...and many people are paranoid of getting Salmonella from herps. If you were to feed any eggs to a corn snake, I would use a wild or non-chicken egg. To add variety to a corn snake's diet, add the occasional rat pup, gerbil, hamster, guinea pig (are the babies called Guinea piglets?), baby rabbit, quail or chick (yes, also a source of Salmonella, but not as bad a the eggs from what I remember). And you could always try a lizard or frog, but you always run the risk of your snake catching something from those critters, plus any change in diet might make your snake decide that it only wants to eat that particular thing.
 
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