#drymarchon

[herpsandbirds]

Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi), family Colubridae, found in the SE United States

All indigo snakes used to be within the species D. corais, which had 12 subspecies, but they are now broken up between 5 or 6 species.

photograph by Dirk Stevenson

[snototter]

An Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) 

by Chad Harrison

[midnight-mod]

Got to meet a full grown indigo yesterday 😍😍

She smile for the camera

[valleyofsacrifice]

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

bit of a shitpost question- if you were the director of an occult government organization and you had the ability to give snakes human-level intelligence and shapeshifting abilities, what snake(s?) would you choose to make up the Wizard Tax Fraud Investigation Department?

This is SUCH a fun question, I love it!

Definitely king cobras are my pick for the WTFID. They're already smart and good problem-solvers, and the ease with which they can be trained would translate to a great attention to detail. I think they'd be able to handle this work with style and precision.

Because this is such a fun question and is giving me ideas for a short story with this premise, I had to think up a few more departments!

The Occult Artifacts Investigation Department would have to be staffed by smart snakes who love solving puzzles. Drymarchon snakes would be a perfect pick! I'd probably pick eastern indigos and blacktail cribos, because they're also friendly and fun to work with.

The Special Wizard Crimes department would be staffed with black mambas. Like king cobras, they're smart and detail-oriented, but black mambas are also super fast and don't mind thinking with their fangs when they have to.

Security would be rattlesnakes. They look tough and scary to people who don't know much about snakes, so they've got an intimidation factor, and I think they'd be crazy loyal to whoever gave them food. For variety, I'd probably have a mix of species; maybe Arizona black rattlers and eastern diamondbacks for intimidation, sidewinders for speed, Santa Catalina rattlers for stealth, and Mojave rattlers for power.

And the front-facing government members would obviously be hognose snakes. They'd have no issue with acting like they were more interested in their own problems than the organization's, and they'd be happy to play on their phones all day (of course I would give my snakes phones in this scenario) and just say "I don't know anything about any of this or any of the people involved" whenever anyone came around asking questions.

[walterjenkel]

©photography by Walter Jenkel 2023 Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) WALTER JENKEL @WalterJenkel walter_jenkel

[random-imagines-blog]

Imagine being Bruce Wayne’s sister, and being in a relationship with John Blake.

Bonding time. It should be easy, right? You loved your brother, and you loved John. They both loved you, so they had at least one thing in common. It should be simple. A nice hike out in the woods on the Wayne property. Enjoy the outdoors, get a little workout in, pump those endorphins up --

Five minutes. That’s all it took. Five minutes for you to regret this.

“I’m telling you,” Bruce said, angrily. “There aren’t any big snakes in these woods. The worst you’re gonna find are the cornsnakes. Harmless.”

“And I’m telling you,” John shot back. “I just saw a long one. Long and black. Definitely venomous.”

“I don’t appreciate you telling me what is and isn’t on my land, Blake.”

You were crouched down, sighing. While the men, or should you say boys, were squabbling for the first time of many today, you were actually peering down into the brush, seeing what it was that John had thought that he had seen. He was more into the argument than in actually proving that he was right at this point. Blue-black, the snake moved throughout the shadows, keeping to itself. It wasn’t aggressive in the least. It was - kind of pretty, actually.

You stood up and took a couple of steps back, brushing your hands on your shorts. “You’re both wrong,” You said, and flicked their heads in unison. “It’s a Drymarchon. So it’s pretty big. But it’s not venomous. I know you’re both out there being save-the-city people but come on, watch some Attenborough. We’re losing daylight, let’s head out.”

Both of the men watched as you strode past them, keeping on the trail. And then looked at each other. Your brother was the first to get moving again, if only to think he could get the last words in. “Harmless, told you.”

“Long and black, told you,” John said in a slightly mocking tone.

“I’ll import in some copperheads if you two don’t cut it out,” You threatened, not even bothering to turn your head, feeling like you were out with two children rather than fully grown men.

Requested by: @tsunchani​

[snakeswagbracket]

Snake Swag Bracket Round 2

In this round we have two beautiful North American colubrids facing off! Corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) Is typically estimated as the second most popular pet snake (coming in just behind the ball python!) and due to their huge popularity there are now over 800 different morphs! Many corn snake morphs--including those found in the wild--have a checkerboard pattern of scales on their belly. The origin of their name is often thought to be either because those checkerboards look like kernels of corn, or because of their habit of making a home in places corn was stored to take advantage of the mouse buffet it attracted. Eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi) are the largest known colubrids in North America, but that's not the only way their size sets them apart! Most if not all snakes are sexually dimorphic, meaning there is a significant difference between average male and average female sizes. In most snake species, females grow to be larger than the males, but in eastern indigos it is the opposite, with males typically growing much longer than females!

[michael-smith-77]

The Eastern Indigo Snake: A Hidden Gem of the Southeastern Wilds

The Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) is a creature of mystery and majesty, often overlooked yet deeply important to its native ecosystems. Stretching up to 8 feet long, this nonvenomous snake holds the title of the longest native snake in North America. Its iridescent, midnight-blue scales shimmer like liquid obsidian, giving it an almost otherworldly beauty.

Found primarily in the southeastern United States, particularly in Florida and parts of Georgia, the Eastern Indigo Snake is a keystone species. It plays a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance, often preying on venomous snakes like rattlesnakes (yes, they’re immune to the venom!) and helping to regulate the populations of small mammals and amphibians.

But this incredible species faces challenges. Habitat loss, road mortality, and the illegal pet trade have pushed it onto the threatened species list. Efforts are underway to conserve its habitat, including longleaf pine forests and gopher tortoise burrows, which the snake often uses for shelter.

Why should we care? The Eastern Indigo Snake isn’t just a snake—it’s a symbol of the interconnectedness of life. Protecting it means protecting an entire web of biodiversity.

Next time you hear about conservation efforts in the Southeast, remember the Eastern Indigo Snake. It's a reminder that beauty and resilience can thrive in the most unexpected places, as long as we’re willing to fight for them.

[herpsandbirds]

Love the blog!! Could you share some eastern indigo or children's python images?

Sure thing booboo, here's a little of both...

Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi), family Colubridae, found in the SE United States

All indigo snakes used to be within the species D. corais, which had 12 subspecies, but they are now broken up between 5 or 6 species.

photograph by Kevin Enge & USFS

More here:

Herps and Birds (and More) (Posts tagged drymarchon) (tumblr.com)

Children’s Python (Antaresia childreni), family Pythonidae, West Queensland, found in NW Australia

photographs by Matt

[vivian-at-home]

impressive snek 😀 is eastern indigo (Drymarchon couperi), a pretty big one . . . they can be 2.5m or more, the longest non-venomous snake in North America besides those nasty pythons that aren't native

[midnight-mod]

Snake ID help??

I’m brand new to field herping. This was found in south central Texas, closeish to San Antonio. Best I can find is a juvenile Texas Indigo, but I’m hesitant to say that for sure because that’s the coolest possible answer and seems too good to be true??

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

hello! i have a couple questions :] first, what does rear fanged venomous mean and how is that different from being normal venomous? secondly, what are the smartest pet snakes? i know you mentioned king cobras n other venomous snakes are pretty intelligent but obviously they're off limits for being pets.

Hello hello!

Rear-fanged is a dentition type that we see in venomous colubrids (the "generic snake" family, think snakes like hognoses, kingsnakes, and ratsnakes). Most colubrids aren't venomous, and those who are rear-fanged venomous typically have venom that isn't medically significant to humans, so lots of rear-fanged venomous snakes actually make fine pets. That's not every rear-fanged venomous snake, though - there are exceptions, like boomslangs and keelbacks, who have venom that is very medically significant to humans.

They're called rear-fanged because their fangs aren't at the front of their mouth, like elapids and vipers, but closer to the back. They also don't have venom ducts like other venomous snakes, so they kinda drool venom and then have to chew it into their prey. It is not an efficient system.

The smartest snakes that make good pets, in my opinion, are cribos (genus Drymarchon). They're capable of complex training that a lot of other snakes just won't be able to grasp. I used to have a blacktail who was awesome, he could learn complex cues and I taught him to go through a maze I built that required him to move doors with his nose and stuff. Cribos are hard to find, and they're best suited for experienced keepers, but they're easily the smartest non-venomous snakes I've worked with!

On the more achievable side of things, kingsnakes tend to be pretty smart. They're just so food-motivated they can seem a bit more ditzy than they actually are. My Mexican black kingsnake, Ed, is probably the smartest snake I keep as a pet. He easily learned to get into his travel bin on cue, loves simple food puzzles, and he even knows a cue to get him to curl up on someone else's forearm (he's an ambassador snake in training, so that'll be useful for programs). Kingsnakes in general are smart enough that they thrive with extra enrichment and simple puzzles, and they should definitely get chances to use their brains!

[teleos]

Typhon (Eastern indigo snake)

[scalygems]

🌿 Lord of the Forest 🌿

Just a fun one of a Drymarchon melanurus erebennus, or Texas indigo snake, with round-lobed hepatica. Drymarchon are the coolest snakes, sorry I don't make the rules.

Follow me on IG & Twitter @starrypaigeart ♡

[velvetaine]

Typhon by Julian Rossi