Kylie wrote:
how large are eastern brown snake eggs? but that would be impossible, right? *shuddering*
ETA you mention a photo but I can't see any photo on your post. so my imagination is being overactive
Sorry, Kylie! I got interrupted by a rather long phone call from a friend who needed to vent and I forgot that I hadn't uploaded the photos. Done now!
Boy! You had me worried when you suggested a Common Brown Snake as they are prevalent here in Adelaide. I've lost 3x cats during the past 10 yrs to Brown Snakes here in Adelaide Western suburbs. But, I wasn't going to take any chances and did some research. Yes. You're right. The Eastern Brown Snake (same as Common Brown Snake) does lay white eggs.
But, my research so far tells me that a reptile egg has a soft, stretchy, rubbery shell whilst a hard white shell belongs to a bird. Presumably, that would be the same for a snake as it is a reptile. If I'm wrong and someone who is a real expert on this, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! The mysterious egg has a definite hard outer shell. The other thing that I learnt is that The Common Brown Snake lays in clutches, not single eggs at a time. Also, another point, the photos of these snakes on the Internet (not many photos though) appear to have the same shape at both ends whereas this one is pointy at one end and rounder at the other as with most chicken eggs.
I was a rather concerned because I was reminded that last night when I went to lock up the chickens, for the first time, I found that I had left the gate open and it was just after dark. So, upon thinking about the possibility of a Common Brown Snake in my backyard was rather horrifying! PEspecially as my small dogs love to hunt for mice out the back! My backyard is like a jungle out there with lots of potted plants and overrun with sprawling plants. A great place for snakes to hide in! Looks like I'd best revamp my backyard a little or more than a little! It became overgrown whilst I was rather ill. There is a large empty block nearby and I always thought that it was there that my poor deceased cats had found the snakes which had poisoned them before they made their way to the front porch or front garden before collapsing. I must admit that since SAHT put up the new fence surrounding the property, they could slither under the driveway gates. So, tomorrow I will be putting wire along the bottom in order to prevent them access to the property.
Anyone know for sure that Brown Snakes don't lay hard shelled eggs?