The Eastern Indigo Snake: A Protected Species

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The Eastern Indigo Snake A Protected Species
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The eastern indigo snake, (Drymarchon couperi)
is a large, non-venomous snake in the Family
Colubridae.
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Native only to the southeastern United States,
the eastern indigo snake is lustrous blue-black
in color.
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The chin and the sides of the head are often
orange, red, or cream-colored.
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The eastern indigo snake is the longest snake
native to the United States.
Male indigo snakes commonly reach 7 7.5 feet in
length the record length for this species is 8.6
feet.
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A threatened indigo may vibrate its tail, hiss,
and flare the skin on its neck.
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A similar species often abundant at sites where
indigos occur is the slimmer, faster black
racer.
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The eastern indigo occurs only in Florida and in
the Coastal Plain region of southern Georgia
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Dark areas are regions the indigo snake once
occupied, but these populations are now
extirpated.
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Indigos occur in a variety of habitats
including

• sandhills and flatwoods

• scrubs

• hydric hammocks

• longleaf pine wiregrass

and forested wetlands

• marshes

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Indigo snake habitat longleaf pine flatwoods
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Indigo snake habitat scrub
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In sandy uplands, indigo snakes often use gopher
tortoise burrows for dens and protection from
temperature extremes.
Indigo snake habitat longleaf pine sandhill
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Burrows of the adult gopher tortoises are
usually about 6-8 feet deep and 15 feet long.
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Indigo snakes often shed their skins near the
burrows they use for dens.
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• This presentation was prepared by Dean
  Alessandrini and Dirk Stevenson.
• Photos were provided by Dean Alessandrini, Giff
  Beaton, Drew Brown, Andy Day, Eitan Grunwald, Ron
  Grunwald, Natalie Hyslop, R. Seib, Eric
  Spadgenske, Dirk Stevenson, Craig Ten Brink, Beth
  Willis-Stevenson