Eastern Indigo - Drogon

This hatchling was ready for me to pick up a few weeks earlier than anticipated. He's on unscented rodents already.

If there's going to be a final snake to any collection, it better be an eastern indigo! He's hatched 7/27/18 and I've named him Drogon. I love dragons and I thought it's fitting for his colors and future large adult size. :D

Eastern indigos are endangered and are the largest native snake species in the US. They're not constrictors, so they actually kill their prey by just grabbing and crushing. As adults, they eat and poop like large dogs and are high-maintenance snakes- ideally need to be fed multiple prey items per feeding with frequent feedings every few days. Some general info on the species LOL

Also the most money I've ever dropped on a snake. :O

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Yay at last he's here! He's so regal and handsome and Drogon is such a fitting name! Definitely a king of kings! I can't wait to watch this boy grow and read about his behavior!

Beautiful snake! Nice pickup!

Congratulations on your new purchase He’s stunning,great markings


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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

Congratulations on your new purchase He’s stunning,great markings


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thanks! The white specks will fade quickly with age, as it's just a hatchling thing.

Incredible looking snake. When I was young this was the snake all books called the perfect pet. Only my dream list.

Bill

Super cool pickup!!!! That just adds another awesome addition to an already diverse and jealousy-inspiring collection!!!

Congrats!! :gj::gj:

Congrats!! We love our indigos, they are great snakes (messy feeders as you know lol). Looking forward to seeing your lil one grow!

Beautiful, gorgeous snake!

Also one of the smartest snakes apparently - I'm interested to hear how his personality develops as he grows!

Beautiful! It will be interesting to see him grow and change, and hear your thoughts on his personality. Very cool pick up.

Congratulations Red!! I'm happy for you :bow:

Wow! Just wow!

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Originally Posted by ladywhipple02

Also one of the smartest snakes apparently - I'm interested to hear how his personality develops as he grows!

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Originally Posted by Dianne

Beautiful! It will be interesting to see him grow and change, and hear your thoughts on his personality. Very cool pick up.

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I'm interested too! Keepers often talk about their intelligence. I'm taking it with a grain of salt though, because a snake is still just a snake LOL. My tanimbar scrub and northern pine snake have already shown me what I think is a snake's extent of discernment, awareness and intelligence, so Drogon will have some tough spots to beat. I'll be updating this thread in the future!

Welcome to the Drymarchon family !!!

stunning stunning !!

care to share your experience with the permit process and all of that?

i recently added a black tail cribo yearling to my collection. I wanted an indigo but ended up in a different direction with a MBK and the BTC. I will tell you. They are definitely a different level of smart and aware. But... you already have some smart snakes but I think your new add will surprise you. Going to be cool to watch him grow and compare notes!!

aweome stuff !

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Originally Posted by Phillydubs

Welcome to the Drymarchon family !!!

stunning stunning !!

care to share your experience with the permit process and all of that?

i recently added a black tail cribo yearling to my collection. I wanted an indigo but ended up in a different direction with a MBK and the BTC. I will tell you. They are definitely a different level of smart and aware. But... you already have some smart snakes but I think your new add will surprise you. Going to be cool to watch him grow and compare notes!!

aweome stuff !

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oh congrats on your cribo! Well, I can't wait to see what kind of smarts my indigo will display as he grows bigger :D
I decided not to bother with the permit and just get one in state, so it was a regular transaction for me.

wonderful species !!! So magnificent !!

So rare.

I do believe I have seen one in the woods where I board my horse at. It is on a military installation and there are miles and miles of deep woods. We have a large and diverse number of wildlife in those deep woods, in part because they have been left fairly undisturbed for many years.
We actually have the largest numbers of gopher tortoises left, because no-one messes with their burrows (no gasoline poured in to catch rattlers and other such nonsense). Our woods also get controlled burns every few years, which makes it the perfect habitat.

We've had sightings of low slung big cats, might have been a Jaguarundi. They have been released in the general area many, many years ago. Also had sightings of bears. There really are some thick and deep (and large) woods surrounding the horse barn. Quite spooky at night.

There are a ton of snakes, too. At one point I could have sworn I saw an Indigo. Very large and heavy bodied solid black snake. I couldn't get a good look at the head and chin, though, but I can't think of another snake that would be so large and deep black. To bad I've never seen it again.

It has become so rare, that there haven't been any sightings in years now. Quite sad.

Congrats to adding such a unique, rare and magnificent animal to your collection :)

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Originally Posted by zina10

wonderful species !!! So magnificent !!

So rare.

I do believe I have seen one in the woods where I board my horse at. It is on a military installation and there are miles and miles of deep woods. We have a large and diverse number of wildlife in those deep woods, in part because they have been left fairly undisturbed for many years.
We actually have the largest numbers of gopher tortoises left, because no-one messes with their burrows (no gasoline poured in to catch rattlers and other such nonsense). Our woods also get controlled burns every few years, which makes it the perfect habitat.

We've had sightings of low slung big cats, might have been a Jaguarundi. They have been released in the general area many, many years ago. Also had sightings of bears. There really are some thick and deep (and large) woods surrounding the horse barn. Quite spooky at night.

There are a ton of snakes, too. At one point I could have sworn I saw an Indigo. Very large and heavy bodied solid black snake. I couldn't get a good look at the head and chin, though, but I can't think of another snake that would be so large and deep black. To bad I've never seen it again.

It has become so rare, that there haven't been any sightings in years now. Quite sad.

Congrats to adding such a unique, rare and magnificent animal to your collection :)

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That's awesome that you have the undisturbed wildlife and woods so close! And that you've seen a couperi in the wild! That must be a great feeling. If the snake was so large and black, there's really no other native species quite like that, so I'll bet it was an indigo. So rare!

I have terrible luck in spotting wild snakes. I live in socal and hike relatively frequently and have never even seen a rattlesnake LOL.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that is what it was. The only other snakes that large are the Eastern Diamondbacks, and there is NO mistaking them !!!

The only other time I've seen a Eastern Indido Snake was at a endangered wildlife presentation at a fair in Savannah, GA.

I'll never forget it. The guy came out with this gorgeous and big Eastern Indigo snake. He walked around in front of the people while talking in his microphone.
I watched the snake slither through his hands and then start nudging his wrist. I thought "uhoh" and sure enough, the snake casually latched on the guys wrist !!!

He had this khaki long sleeve shirt on and I don't think anybody else noticed it. He was such a pro. All he did was slightly raise his voice and tense up a bit. Then he just kept walking and talking while the snake held on to his wrist. LOL. He kept the sleeve low to try and hide the fact.

He finished up pretty quick, though, LOL.

Where I board my horse now I've seen all kinds of snakes. Mostly Rat snakes (they call them Oak snakes). I have seen quite a few Eastern Diamondback rattlers too, a few Copperheads and a really big Cotton mouth. The most unique one was a little rough green snake. Was as emerald green as a Green Tree Python. I saved that one from a barn cat.

Nights out there (spent a few with a sick horse) really do get spooky. The facility is carved right into the edge of deep woods, built on a old weapons dump. Coyotes run through there, wild pigs and just all kinds of animals. It is quite cool, when it isn't in the middle of the night.

What a beautiful pickup!! And a big hatchling! Dragon is the perfect name for him.

wow! talk about #LifeGoals!

congrats! how long did permitting take?

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

This hatchling was ready for me to pick up a few weeks earlier than anticipated. He's on unscented rodents already.

If there's going to be a final snake to any collection, it better be an eastern indigo! He's hatched 7/27/18 and I've named him Drogon. I love dragons and I thought it's fitting for his colors and future large adult size. :D

Eastern indigos are endangered and are the largest native snake species in the US. They're not constrictors, so they actually kill their prey by just grabbing and crushing. As adults, they eat and poop like large dogs and are high-maintenance snakes- ideally need to be fed multiple prey items per feeding with frequent feedings every few days. Some general info on the species LOL

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that's one of the reasons why they're so awesome! i hope to see some nice feeding pix an vids.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Also the most money I've ever dropped on a snake. :O

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dat Disney money!!

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Originally Posted by Ax01

wow! talk about #LifeGoals!

congrats! how long did permitting take?


that's one of the reasons why they're so awesome! i hope to see some nice feeding pix an vids.


dat Disney money!!

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I just went with purchasing CB in state so I skipped the permit process! I originally did want one from out of state, but then I got impatient...

Haha I actually quit Disney back in April, so I'm on freelance money now!

Drogon already ate his first meal with me! A f/t fuzzy. It's only been 3 days since his arrival.
My trust in drymarchon appetite did not fail. LOL

He's in shed already! I also tossed him a small pinky and he ate that too again.
Just another photo dump and that'll be it for a month unless there's been some special news or change. He handled well, even in shed. Can't wait to work with him and see what he's like out of shed and accustomed to handling. These photos are straight off my iphone and unedited. He's so very shiny and stocky in build!

And random, but I had someone argue with me that snakes are "partially domesticated like cats". It was a riot.

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That is one INCREDIBLE & stunning serpent, congratulations! :love: (I don't think I'll envy your clean-up chores though, lol.)

(I'm late- just getting around to this thread, been really busy the last couple days, just got a new roof put on my house & other time-consuming distractions.)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

That is one INCREDIBLE & stunning serpent, congratulations! :love: (I don't think I'll envy your clean-up chores though, lol.)

(I'm late- just getting around to this thread, been really busy the last couple days, just got a new roof put on my house & other time-consuming distractions.)

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thanks! Lol just think of it as cleaning up after a large dog when they're adults. I'm planning on using small animal litter as substrate when he's older, to hopefully help with keeping things easy.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

thanks! Lol just think of it as cleaning up after a large dog when they're adults. I'm planning on using small animal litter as substrate when he's older, to hopefully help with keeping things easy.

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Well it's not just the size but the activity level of the snake, if you get my drift? ;) (at least that's what I've heard)

I was just thinking how cool black snakes like Drogon look when in blue & their eyes are opalescent, like in your photo...

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Well it's not just the size but the activity level of the snake, if you get my drift? ;) (at least that's what I've heard)

I was just thinking how cool black snakes like Drogon look when in blue & their eyes are opalescent, like in your photo...

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You mean pooping right? Or something else? LOL. For pooping, I was just thinking it's like a large dog- daily piles of poops to clean. Still better than horses!

I agree, they look super cool! So I took a bunch of pictures of him in shed

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

You mean pooping right? Or something else? LOL. For pooping, I was just thinking it's like a large dog- daily piles of poops to clean. Still better than horses!

I agree, they look super cool! So I took a bunch of pictures of him in shed

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I meant they are very messy, not only in terms of amount & frequency but because they are very active snakes in enclosures, so you might find yourself doing more
than just a quick pick up...it might be on the walls. That's what I heard from someone who kept these & what I can surmise- I once had a another kind of snake for a
while with very similar characteristics. They ARE gorgeous & impressive, but this is not jealousy, I can assure you. Hopefully your substrate will help. Diapers would
be ideal though...;) If anyone can figure out how to make this a better experience, I believe that you can. Maybe I should have kept silent, but it's not my strong suit.

I see Indigos regularly where I hunt. Like you said, they are endangered but also further protected on the land I hunt. They are thriving there.


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Red, I have to say I rather muck horse poop then dog or snake poop any day [emoji4][emoji4]

I do it all daily, too. Well the horses and dogs anyway.

Horse poop doesn't stink even nearly as bad as any animal that eats meat. Plus you have the muck fork and don't have to get even close to the poop..LOL

Dog poop...ewww. Nasty smelling. Smaller popper scopper. Not my favorite thing to do.

Snake poop. Fairly ew. Depends on the snake. But never fun. Have to get pretty close to it..despite rubber gloves [emoji4]

Horse is definitely the easiest. Just saying..LOL


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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I meant they are very messy, not only in terms of amount & frequency but because they are very active snakes in enclosures, so you might find yourself doing more
than just a quick pick up...it might be on the walls. That's what I heard from someone who kept these & what I can surmise- I once had a another kind of snake for a
while with very similar characteristics. They ARE gorgeous & impressive, but this is not jealousy, I can assure you. Hopefully your substrate will help. Diapers would
be ideal though...;) If anyone can figure out how to make this a better experience, I believe that you can. Maybe I should have kept silent, but it's not my strong suit.

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Oh that, no worries boger, that's nothing new LOL. That's what basically everyone learns first about indigos haha. I don't find it crazy after cleaning pee and poop smeared all over puppy crates for a million years, and I honestly don't believe it's that huge of a deal. Animals come with cleaning, and it varies across species, however they do it. You can't escape the poops!

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Originally Posted by zina10

Horse is definitely the easiest. Just saying..LOL


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LOL, I see! I haven't owned horses, but just seeing the sheer amount of poop always makes me cringe.

I used to milk cows. After about 50 have been through the milking barn....
The wheel barrow would be very heavy. Seemed I was always traversing snow, ice, slush, and general muck to get to the pile where we dumped it. In the early Spring when the cows were first on fresh grass that manure smelled just like dirty baby diapers.

POOP JUST DOESN'T FAZE ME.

Retic owners often warn about the cleaning and mess.
It is what is, but the frequent mess does mean that even short vacations call for a house sitter who is comfortable cleaning your enclosures.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Oh that, no worries boger, that's nothing new LOL. That's what basically everyone learns first about indigos haha. I don't find it crazy after cleaning pee and poop smeared all over puppy crates for a million years, and I honestly don't believe it's that huge of a deal. Animals come with cleaning, and it varies across species, however they do it. You can't escape the poops! ....

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In that case, you are the PERFECT indigo owner. :rockon:

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Originally Posted by distaff

It is what is, but the frequent mess does mean that even short vacations call for a house sitter who is comfortable cleaning your enclosures.

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That's one thing that sucks, having to find a sitter for both cleaning and feeding if I go anywhere, because they eat so frequently even as adults. Thankfully I'm taking a looong break from vacations, having spent way too much on traveling this year LOL.

Maybe you can get yourself a small wheelbarrow and muck fork... :rofl:


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Is that your place zina? It reminds me of the acreage I grew up on! I miss the land I grew up on. Our barn and house was the same stile but red and white

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Originally Posted by Danger noodles

Is that your place zina? It reminds me of the acreage I grew up on! I miss the land I grew up on. Our barn and house was the same stile but red and white

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I wish!

I board my horse on a military installation. I love it there, because that place has been there forever. The barn is carved out in a very remote part of the installation and surrounded by hundreds of acres of deep woods. All kinds of wildlife there. Although it can get a bit spooky at night, it is SO dark surrounding the barn and not a soul ..well, aside from the horses and wildlife. Most people are out of there around 5 or 6 pm. I tend to stay longer and have even spent a few nights with a sick horse.

Unlike most horse boarding barns, out where I am, you have a big area to yourself and the entire place feels remote and out there because of the woods.

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Originally Posted by Ax01

wow! talk about #LifeGoals!

congrats! how long did permitting take?


that's one of the reasons why they're so awesome! i hope to see some nice feeding pix an vids.


dat Disney money!!

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

I just went with purchasing CB in state so I skipped the permit process! I originally did want one from out of state, but then I got impatient...

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oh yeah, u could do that.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Haha I actually quit Disney back in April, so I'm on freelance money now!

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wait wut?!! now who's gonna give me the inside scoop on the Lion King remake? or free ear hats?

:confusd:


Edit: but congrats on being free and again on the D. couperi!

What are your plans for andeeding schedule? What substrate are you keeping now?

really is a beauty I love the body shape and heads of drymarcon.

Ive only been feeding my black tail cribo weekly and he’s been pooping about every 5 days or so. Even at a small size he’s been creative with the locations. The wall smearing is real lol.

Hes been getting 3 smaller but good sized meals for his size and he gobbles. May go to 4 soon.

Good luck with the shed!

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Originally Posted by Phillydubs

What are your plans for andeeding schedule? What substrate are you keeping now?

really is a beauty I love the body shape and heads of drymarcon.

Ive only been feeding my black tail cribo weekly and he’s been pooping about every 5 days or so. Even at a small size he’s been creative with the locations. The wall smearing is real lol.

Hes been getting 3 smaller but good sized meals for his size and he gobbles. May go to 4 soon.

Good luck with the shed!

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He's currently on mouse fuzzies and I'm feeding one every 3 days. I have him on paper towel right now for quarantine. He also pooped yesterday, though not as much as I thought! About the same poo texture (lol) and amount as my pine snake of the same age. My northern pine and Drogon are only about a week apart in age, coincidentally. I'll post about future poo updates :rofl:He also has had a perfect shed!

How old and how heavy is your cribo so far?

Poo updates: he pooped AGAIN 2 days after the last poop LOL. The poo frequency is amazing.

I also have a couple videos of him on instagram today! https://www.instagram.com/p/BqieXDHA6QY/

Unfortunately, I don't think I can post it directly on the forum. I also noticed yesterday that he has white scales on his chin! I think this comes with a lot of red phase easterns these days.

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Originally Posted by zina10

The only other time I've seen a Eastern Indido Snake was at a endangered wildlife presentation at a fair in Savannah, GA.

I'll never forget it. The guy came out with this gorgeous and big Eastern Indigo snake. He walked around in front of the people while talking in his microphone.
I watched the snake slither through his hands and then start nudging his wrist. I thought "uhoh" and sure enough, the snake casually latched on the guys wrist !!!

He had this khaki long sleeve shirt on and I don't think anybody else noticed it. He was such a pro. All he did was slightly raise his voice and tense up a bit. Then he just kept walking and talking while the snake held on to his wrist. LOL. He kept the sleeve low to try and hide the fact.

He finished up pretty quick, though, LOL.

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That is one of the funniest and most well handled snake mishap stories I’ve heard. Bet it was a treat lol!
Glad to hear your new critter is doing well! They are such an impressive species in so many ways



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Loved your video...such a beautiful snake & so curious about everything around him...not shy & sure not a "pet rock" type.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Loved your video...such a beautiful snake & so curious about everything around him...not shy & sure not a "pet rock" type.

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For sure! He's gotten used to handling so quickly. When in the enclosure though, he hides in his snall rbi hide strictly, I've never seen him out yet. Which is what I've been told about hatchlings, all typically just in their hides all the time.

I've been meaning to stop by and say congrats on the interesting addition red. Drogon looks like he commands the respect of a dragon.

Love the video. Great to see him in action, he’s such a beauty!

I thought some of you might like to see this feeding video! He makes me laugh... I can't wait for this to be a 7 foot snake haha
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqv19dwgMIm/

Ha! That's awesome, he really pulls hard! Just make sure he never misses & catches you, especially when he's 7'. Somehow I don't think you'll get bored...
he has a very "physical" presence. He's a little like feeding a coachwhip but they are more slender, not as strong; they do just wolf down their food though,
and may thrash it around first also, since they cannot constrict either.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Ha! That's awesome, he really pulls hard! Just make sure he never misses & catches you, especially when he's 7'. Somehow I don't think you'll get bored...
he has a very "physical" presence. He's a little like feeding a coachwhip but they are more slender, not as strong; they do just wolf down their food though,
and may thrash it around first also, since they cannot constrict either.

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I've been told the same, that sometimes as adults, they do miss the prey and come straight out of their enclosure and rush toward your feet, thinking it's prey. Sounds exciting as long as I don't make a mistake. LOL! And I think so too, I love his girth and thick head.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

I've been told the same, that sometimes as adults, they do miss the prey and come straight out of their enclosure and rush toward your feet, thinking it's prey. Sounds exciting as long as I don't make a mistake. LOL! And I think so too, I love his girth and thick head.

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I've never had a snake try for my feet, but a bearded dragon did. :D Spike was a male & got riled up when he caught his image in my mirrored closet door; as I was
laughing, he turned from fighting his own image & came after my feet! :rofl: Guess you'd better wear boots when you feed Drogon...even now he could do a number
on your toes, lol.