Rhombic Egg Eater

© Tyrone Ping

Name

Rhombic Egg-Eater or Common Egg-Eater [Dasypeltis scabra]

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Colubridae

Length_F

964 mm

Length_M

595 mm

Description

The Rhombic Egg-Eater is a slender, solid snake with a small, rounded head. The tail is short; males have shorter tails. The back is slate-grey, light brown or olive-brown, with a median series of dark, squarish blotches flanked by narrow dark bars. Mouth lining is black.

Distribution

The rhombic Egg-Eater is found throughout the subcontinent and elsewhere to to Sudan in the north and Gambia in the west.

Breeding

It lays 6 - 25 eggs in summer; these take 80 - 90 days to hatch.

Field Notes

The Rhombic Egg-Eater feeds solely on eggs with ridges in the mouth assisting in swallowing. The shell is regurgitated in one piece after the contents have passed through the stomach.
Kruger National Park - South African Safari