What is it?

Mooseherder · February 08, 2021, 08:44:51 PM

I spotted this egg beneath a Coconut Palm today. A palm frond had fallen and I think the egg was nestled in it. Is it a snake egg or a bird egg? Something is in it and it's not a coconut.

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doc henderson · February 08, 2021, 08:57:48 PM

not sure. can you hyper-illuminate it with a light bulb? called candling for chicken industry. might be able to tell a bird from a snake in the egg. If you are not going to give it heat and try to hatch it, might as well crack it open and see. .

Mooseherder · February 08, 2021, 09:09:16 PM

Okay, I just tried it with a flashlight. You can see a mass and feel the weight of it but not able to make it out. I'll try with a light bulb tomorrow.

doc henderson · February 08, 2021, 09:29:17 PM

you may need a hole just under the size of the egg cut in some cardboard, so the light goes through the egg, but does not blind you or shine around. lots of stuff online on candling eggs.

LogPup · February 08, 2021, 09:34:42 PM

Looks like snake egg. They like to hang out up in the fronds. Nothing like trimming a palm on a ladder and find a face and tongue looking you right in the eye.

LogPup · February 08, 2021, 09:39:38 PM

If they are snake eggs be careful. We found some in the sand pile we played in as kids. They were almost ready to hatch. Being dumb kids we opened them up. Baby coral snakes!!!

WV Sawmiller · February 08, 2021, 10:00:09 PM

If it is a bird egg the shell should be hard. If a reptile (Snake, turtle or lizard) the shell should be leathery.

KEC · February 09, 2021, 12:24:25 AM

To that I would add that, to my knowledge, few if any bird eggs are that round. It looks a lot like Common Snapping Turtle eggs that I have seen. Maybe it had help getting up in the tree or it wasn't in the tree. ?

Mooseherder · February 09, 2021, 06:51:06 AM

It's possible that it wasn't in the tree. We have a pond a few feet away from where it was found so a Turtle egg is possible.
We've got lots of turtles.

WV Sawmiller · February 09, 2021, 08:38:12 AM

And the OP said it was on the ground under the palm tree so he was speculating it came from the tree. Yes, a bird or iguana or could have carried it up there.

Raider Bill · February 09, 2021, 08:45:11 AM

Try it with bacon :D

Mooseherder · February 09, 2021, 06:04:37 PM

I put it back to where it was and let nature work it out.

KEC · February 09, 2021, 09:02:25 PM

Seriously, anyone considering eating turtle eggs should know they could be high in contaminants. A long time ago I tried cooking some snapping turtle eggs and they would not firm up so they got tossed. I'm not so adventuruos these days.

WV Sawmiller · February 09, 2021, 09:15:08 PM

KEC,

I should have added that to my "Did you know" thread but my old mentor always told me you could not hard boil a turtle egg because the yolk won't set. Also there is really no white to one. I butchered a big alligator snapping turtle in Albany Ga one time that was full of eggs. I gave them to my wife and she broke them and used them in a batch of cookies and the kids took "turtle egg brownies" to school with them and gave to the bus driver, teachers and their friends. There was likely nothing wrong with the ones you threw away - just nature at work.

Autocar · February 15, 2021, 06:32:14 PM

If you were here in Ohio I would say it was a turtle egg.

WV Sawmiller · February 15, 2021, 07:13:09 PM

If he was in Ohio he would never have found it for the snow. :D

caveman · February 15, 2021, 07:19:09 PM

Quote from: KEC on February 09, 2021, 09:02:25 PMSeriously, anyone considering eating turtle eggs should know they could be high in contaminants

Back in the 1930's my maternal grandfather used to collect sea turtle eggs along the east coast of Florida. They would prepare them for a meal. These days one would be executed on the spot for "molesting" a turtle nest. This was near where Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center was eventually built. I think he sold his 100 acres for a $1 an acre and doubled his money.