Dasypeltis
Encyclopedia
Dasypeltis is a genus
of colubrid
snake
s. It is one of only two taxonomic
groups of snakes known to have adapted to feed exclusively on eggs
. (The other being the snake
s of the genus
Elachistodon.) They are nonvenomous and found throughout the continent of Africa
, primarily in forested habitat
s that are also home to numerous species
of bird
s.
:
of this genus
exhibit a wide variation in patterning and color, from mixtures of brown
s and green
s, to solid black
. Individuals in a specific locality tend to share similar color and pattern. They vary in size greatly, from 30-100 cm (12-39 inches) in length.
which are used to aid in breaking the shells of eggs.
The process of consuming an egg involves wrapping their mouth
around it and drawing it into the throat
and then flexing their muscles pushing the egg into the bony protrusions on their spine
, which causes the egg to collapse in on itself. Then the snake carefully squeezes every last bit of liquid out of the inside of the egg, ending with regurgitation of the completely crushed egg shell. They are remarkably efficient, and waste very little of the contents of an egg.
egg.
trade, but due to their unique dietary needs they can be a challenge to keep in captivity. Most egg-eating snakes never get large enough to consume typical chicken
eggs, so smaller ones must be provided, such as finch
eggs or quail
eggs. Once a reliable source(s) of food is obtained, Dasypeltis make easy and hardy vivarium species. Captive breeding is virtually unknown, so almost all specimens available are wild caught.
Many owners have resorted to force feeding their Dasypeltis because the animal seems not to be eating. However, evidence has shown that, like large constrictors, these snakes may go for very long periods (months) without eating after a large meal. As long as the snake is behaving normally and does not appear to be in physical distress, force feeding is not advised. When a specimen seems to be "off" its food, offering it eggs approximately monthly is appropriate. If the snake does not eat but continues to drink, is active, and sheds, then it does not need to be force fed. Occasionally, mixing a very small amount of beaten egg into the animal's water is a way to provide some additional nourishment when they refuse whole eggs.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s. It is one of only two taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
groups of snakes known to have adapted to feed exclusively on eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
. (The other being the snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Elachistodon.) They are nonvenomous and found throughout the continent of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, primarily in forested habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s that are also home to numerous species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s.
Species
Dasypeltis has five recognized speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
:
- Montane egg-eating snake, Dasypeltis atra Sternfeld, 1912
- Central-AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n egg-eating snake, Dasypeltis fasciata SmithAndrew Smith (zoologist)Sir Andrew Smith KCB was a Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist. He is considered the father of Zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire...
, 1849 - Southern brown egg-eating snake, Dasypeltis inornata SmithAndrew Smith (zoologist)Sir Andrew Smith KCB was a Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist. He is considered the father of Zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.Smith was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire...
, 1849 - East AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n egg-eating snake, Dasypeltis medici (Bianconi, 1859)- Dasypeltis medici lamuensis Gans, 1957
- Dasypeltis medici medici (Bianconi, 1859)
- Common or Rhombic egg-eating snake, Dasypeltis scabra (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Dasypeltis scabra loveridgei MertensRobert MertensRobert Mertens was a German herpetologist. The Robert Mertens' day gecko is a species named after him, and he also postulated Mertensian mimicry....
, 1954 - Dasypeltis scabra scabra (LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, 1758)
- Dasypeltis scabra loveridgei Mertens
Description
The speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of this genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
exhibit a wide variation in patterning and color, from mixtures of brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
s and green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
s, to solid black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
. Individuals in a specific locality tend to share similar color and pattern. They vary in size greatly, from 30-100 cm (12-39 inches) in length.
Behavior
Dasypeltis species tend to have a nervous disposition, and when threatened will perform what is called saw-scaling, where it will rub its scales together quickly to make a rasping noise that sounds vaguely like hissing. They are agile climbers, and have a keen sense of smell to tell whether an egg is not rotten or too far developed to be comfortable to eat. They have extremely flexible jaws and necks for eating eggs much larger than their head, and have no teeth, but they do have bony protrusions on the inside edge of their spineVertebral column
In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...
which are used to aid in breaking the shells of eggs.
The process of consuming an egg involves wrapping their mouth
Mouth
The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....
around it and drawing it into the throat
Throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx...
and then flexing their muscles pushing the egg into the bony protrusions on their spine
Vertebral column
In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...
, which causes the egg to collapse in on itself. Then the snake carefully squeezes every last bit of liquid out of the inside of the egg, ending with regurgitation of the completely crushed egg shell. They are remarkably efficient, and waste very little of the contents of an egg.
Eating
A sequence of a Montane Egg-eating Snake, Dasypeltis atra consuming a quailQuail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
egg.
In captivity
Dasypeltis species are readily available in the exotic petPet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
trade, but due to their unique dietary needs they can be a challenge to keep in captivity. Most egg-eating snakes never get large enough to consume typical chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
eggs, so smaller ones must be provided, such as finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
eggs or quail
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
eggs. Once a reliable source(s) of food is obtained, Dasypeltis make easy and hardy vivarium species. Captive breeding is virtually unknown, so almost all specimens available are wild caught.
Many owners have resorted to force feeding their Dasypeltis because the animal seems not to be eating. However, evidence has shown that, like large constrictors, these snakes may go for very long periods (months) without eating after a large meal. As long as the snake is behaving normally and does not appear to be in physical distress, force feeding is not advised. When a specimen seems to be "off" its food, offering it eggs approximately monthly is appropriate. If the snake does not eat but continues to drink, is active, and sheds, then it does not need to be force fed. Occasionally, mixing a very small amount of beaten egg into the animal's water is a way to provide some additional nourishment when they refuse whole eggs.