Dr. Universe explains why reptile eggs aren’t common at the grocery store

By Communications staff, Washington State University, WSU Insider

Washington State University’s resident feline scientist, Dr. Universe, answers a question from Bella, 7, of Arizona: Why don’t we eat reptile eggs?

With help from WSU biologist Ryan Wagner, Dr. Universe explores why chicken eggs became a breakfast staple while eggs from turtles, snakes, and lizards generally did not.

Readers learn that people in some parts of the world have eaten reptile eggs for thousands of years, including iguana and sea turtle eggs. But many reptiles lay eggs only once a year, mature slowly, and require carefully controlled temperatures and moisture, making their eggs much more difficult to farm than chicken eggs.

The column also explains how thousands of years of domestication transformed chickens into prolific egg layers capable of producing 250 to 300 eggs a year, compared with just 10 to 15 for their wild ancestor, the red junglefowl.