# Will non-mammals consume dairy products? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741 "2011-10-06T00:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/1 "2011-10-06T00:31:59Z")
I’ve seen dogs and cats gobble up milk, cheese, ice cream. I know that bears, coyotes and racoons will raid dumpsters and scarf discarded butter and yogurt. How about non-mammals? If given the opportunity, how do they respond to dairy? Will a gator scarf up haagen-dasz? Will a Komodo dragon lap up a milkshake? Will raptors swoop to grab some fried cheese curds? If they do, I’m sure they regret it, as I suspect they lack lactase and will have some nasty gas and diarrhea. But do they do it anyway? I’ve tried the Dairy Council, but no good answers were forthcoming. You’d think that residing in Wisconsin, I’d be able to find out more on this topic… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/2 "2011-10-06T00:39:10Z")
Pigeons and gulls will certainly eat just about anything, including dairy - as long as it’s in a form they can pick up and eat. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/3 "2011-10-06T00:53:13Z")
I had a gecko who would eat cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/4 "2011-10-06T00:56:38Z")
Iguana eating a slice of cheese. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HdqbuUD7NgE/hqdefault.jpg "Scooter Pie Eating Cheese") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdqbuUD7NgE) ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/5 "2011-10-06T01:30:41Z")
I have a parrot who likes a bit of cheddar. Monterey jack and cotija not so much, for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/6 "2011-10-06T01:42:30Z")
Ants certainly don’t mind melted ice cream. And cheese is popular fish bait. …Which reminds me of [Casu Marzu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_marzu), maggot riddled cheese from Sardinia. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/7 "2011-10-06T01:45:20Z")
Milk? That makes me think of tits! [Blue tits](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_tit#Learning). (And, allegedly, [great tits](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_tit) like coconuts.) (On the bird table, that is.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/8 "2011-10-06T01:52:30Z")
[Yes.]([http://www.animalsandearth.com/photo/view/id/101233-blue-tit-parus-caeruleus-breaking-into-milk-bottle-to-drink-the-cream-from-the-milk-england#/1/tag/Parus](http://www.animalsandearth.com/photo/view/id/101233-blue-tit-parus-caeruleus-breaking-into-milk-bottle-to-drink-the-cream-from-the-milk-england#/1/tag/Parus) caeruleus/viewed/) In the early 20th Century [Blue Tits](http://www.britishbirdlovers.co.uk/articles/blue-tits-and-milk-bottle-tops.html) learned to open the caps of bottles containing unhomogenized milk to get at the cream. Although they lack lactase, they were able to consume cream because it doesn’t contain lactose. This behavior spread rapidly through the species due to cultural transmission. However, today it seems to be dying out along with home milk delivery and the ubiquity of homogenized milk. I would expect that many kinds of birds would eat cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/9 "2011-10-06T02:12:07Z")
My parrots like whatever I am eating, including cheese and morning coffee. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/10 "2011-10-06T02:52:15Z")
I have seen budgies drinking milk and buttermilk, and eating yogurt. Weird wee birdies! ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/11 "2011-10-06T03:35:15Z")
When I was little we had a turtle that ate cream cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/12 "2011-10-06T06:45:19Z")
My canary liked cheese, we found this when Middlebro stuck a rind through the cage bars in imitation of what we did with lettuce leaves. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/13 "2011-10-06T07:55:15Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Milk? That makes me think of tits! > > [Blue tits](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_tit#Learning). > > (And, allegedly, [great tits](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_tit) like coconuts.) [A pair of nice tits](http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/Floater_photo/funny_pics-tits.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/14 "2011-10-09T04:15:59Z")
I remember having read, years ago, of some ancient culture where they would leave a shallow bowl of milk out for the snakes at night. There was an illustration of a small circular table that was specially designed for this, with the bowl at the middle and four snake-grooves at 90-degree intervals. (IIRC it was the Mesopotamia, but I’m not sure). Therefore, presumably snakes will drink milk. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/15 "2011-10-09T05:21:54Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I remember having read, years ago, of some ancient culture where they would leave a shallow bowl of milk out for the snakes at night. There was an illustration of a small circular table that was specially designed for this, with the bowl at the middle and four snake-grooves at 90-degree intervals. (IIRC it was the Mesopotamia, but I’m not sure). > > Therefore, presumably snakes will drink milk. No, they won’t. The idea that snakes will drink milk is a myth. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/16 "2011-10-09T05:29:15Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > No, they won’t. The idea that snakes will drink milk is a myth. One well-known among Sherlockians because of its use in [The Speckled Band](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_speckled_band). The criminal trains a snake to respond to a whistle (though snakes are deaf) and climb a bell-pull rope (which would not be rigid enough for a snake to climb) by rewarding it with milk (which snakes will not drink). Arthur Conan Doyle was a brilliant writer, but cared little for research. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/17 "2011-10-09T12:47:04Z")
Mammals are not the only species to produce milk for their young, some birds and fish and apparently reptiles too will: [http://www.idiocentrism.com/milk.htm](http://www.idiocentrism.com/milk.htm) [http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/217877/20110921/birds-can-also-produce-milk-for-their-chicks.htm](http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/217877/20110921/birds-can-also-produce-milk-for-their-chicks.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/18 "2011-10-09T13:45:46Z")
Every parrot I’ve ever owned has been happy to eat dairy, whether milk or cheese or sour cream or whatever. In general, things like yogurt and cheese are easier for them to digest. Some milk is apparently OK, but too much gives them diarrhea. Then again, too much of a lot of things will have that effect on a bird. Or me, for that matter. They may not be able to digest the lactase, but they might well be able to utilize other nutrients like calcium, protein, and fat. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/19 "2011-10-09T15:22:15Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Mammals are not the only species to produce milk for their young, some birds and fish and apparently reptiles too will: > [idiocentrism.com](http://www.idiocentrism.com/milk.htm) > [http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/217877/20110921/birds-can-also-produce-milk-for-their-chicks.htm](http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/217877/20110921/birds-can-also-produce-milk-for-their-chicks.htm) It should be noted that bird “milk” differs in composition from mammalian milk, being almost entirely fat and protein. Pigeon milk lacks carbohydrates such as lactose. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741/20 "2011-10-09T16:06:26Z")
Fascinating, thanks all! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-non-mammals-consume-dairy-products/598741.md?page=2)