Rhombic Egg Eater
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.
