SUBFAMILY Dasypeltinae - Egg Eating Snakes

African Egg Eating Snakes

The Dasypeltinae sub-family is represented by a single genus Daypeltis or African Egg Eating Snakes. They have no teeth on the front of the upper and lower jaws or on the palate but they do have small teeth on the rear part of their jaws. They also have hacksaw blade like protrusions on the backbone but on the throat side which they use to saw through egg shells.  As the name suggests they feed exclusively on a diet of whole birds eggs and are found only in Africa (although D. scabra has now been recorded in Arabia). Three full species are known from our area.