Indigo Snake

(Drymarchon corais)
Subspecies: Eastern, Texas

Description:

60-103 1/2" (152-263 cm). Largest North American snake. Heavy-bodied. Lustrous blue-black or mixed brown and black. Chin, throat, and sides of head suffused with cream, orange, or red. Scales smooth, in 17 rows. Anal plate single.

Breeding:

Eastern form mates November to February. Deposits 5-12 leathery eggs, 3-4" (76-102 mm) long, April to May. Hatchlings 19-26" (48-66 cm) long appear late July to October. Texas form lays april to May.

Habitat:

In southeast: pine woods, turkey oak, and palmetto stands near water, orange groves, and tropical hammocks; in Texas: dry grassland and thickets near ponds and rivers.

Range:

Se. Georgia through Florida Keys; scattered populations in Florida panhandle; formerly in s. alabama. Also, Texas south to Argentina.

Subspecies:

Eastern (D. c. couperi), body uniformly shiny blue-black; se. Georgia and Florida.

Texas (D. c. erebennus), front half of body often brownish-black with trace of pattern, black lines radiate downward fromn eye; s. Texas to Veracruz and Hidalgo, Mexico.

Not a constrictor, the Indigo immobilizes food with its jaws. It feeds on frogs, small mammals and birds, other snakes--including venomous ones--lizards, and young turtles. When disturbed, it hisses, vibrates its tail, and flattens its neck. The Eastern Indigo Snake is vanishing in the wild. Habitat destruction, commercial collecting, and the practice of gassing tortoise burrows--the Indigo's favorite retreat--have drastically reduced its numbers. It is protected by law. Long-lived; one captive lived nearly 26 years.

[Home] [Back]

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page