Egg-Eating Snakes

Dasypeltis

Geographical Locale

• Found throughout Africa

Appearance

• The few teeth it has are solid and harmless.
• No fangs.
• Wide variation in pattern and colour; ranging from browns and greens to solid dark grey.
• V-shaped dark mark on neck; the top of which points to the snout.
• Fairly slender snake with small head that is rounded at the snout.
• Belly usually cream in brown coloured snakes and white in grey ones.
• Size ranges from 1.5' to 5' in length.
• Often confused with the Night Adder (Causus rhombeatus).

Venom

• Non-venomous

Lifecycle

• Females lay between 6 and 12 eggs.
• Eggs are incubated for approximately three months.
• Hatchlings are between 14cms and 21cms in length.
• Dasypeltis reach sexual maturity after about two years.

Habits

• Generally live in forests or anywhere that is also the habitat of large numbers of nesting birds.
• Extremely strong climbers.
• Keenly developed sense of smell – they will not eat rotten eggs or ones that are too far developed for their taste.
• Swallows eggs whole but crushes and regurgitates the shell.
• Extremely nervous species and non-confrontational.