African Egg Eating Snake Health Information

Please keep in mind that this is a snake with very specialized feeding habits. Before acquiring an African Egg Eating snake, make sure that you will have a reliable source for small fresh bird eggs. Enclosure temperatures should remain between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius (about 73 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit), with about a five degree Celsius nighttime drop. Many will do well when kept on a 14 hour day, year round, though due to their nocturnal habits they can be stressed by bright light. A shallow water bowl should be available and humidity should be kept high, usually no lower than 75 percent. A substrate of aspen shavings is often acceptable and climbing opportunities should be provided. Many African Egg Eating Snakes will sleep in bird's nest after eating the eggs, and it may be beneficial to provide a hiding spot similar to a nest for your captive snake - perhaps a small bowl filled with nesting material. African Egg Eating Snakes can usually be kept on quail eggs in captivity, and often they will eat six to seven of these at each feeding. If any eggs remain in the enclosure after two days, they should be removed and discarded. Some African Egg Eating Snakes have problems shedding. In such a case, you may wish place your animal in a plastic sweater box along with some wetted, warm paper towels as a substrate. Shedding problems in an otherwise healthy snake could be a sign that the enclosure's humidity level is too low.

Breeding
In captivity, African Egg Eating Snakes can usually be bred year round. However, in the wild, breeding occurs in the spring, and often, cooling snakes down to winter temperatures between 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit and lowering humidity can aid in encouraging breeding. Usually, African Egg Eating Snakes deposit between 6 and 25 eggs. They do not lay eggs in one location; rather, the clutch is usually scattered after a gestation period lasting between 80 and 90 days. Hatchling African Egg Eating Snakes can be fed finch eggs.