I have several snakes, but this fellow is the gem of my collection. I held an Indigo snake at a reptile expo about...nine years ago, and that twenty seconds changed my life...I HAD to have one.
They're very unlike any other snake. First, they are unable to unhinge their jaws in order to engulf large prey, so they have to eat smaller prey items. Second, they have a FAST metabolism, so they eat (and poop!) frequently. He eats three or four small prey items a week. Third, they are smart. Grendel clearly recognizes me from any other person, and whenever I am in the room with him he keeps his head out, watching me. He doesn't watch my husband or anyone else.
He's incredibly docile, until he senses food. Then he becomes a maniac! He's also beautiful, as you will see, with big glossy black scales and an enchanting red face. He's very expressive too. He makes little "huff" sounds of disapproval when I'm not taking him out of his tub fast enough or when I won't let him go climb out of my reach.
It took me nine years to get an Indigo snake for a few reasons. They are protected. There are several states where you can't have them at all without a permit, and if you want to get one from any state aside from the one you live in you need a permit. They are harder to care for than the average snake. I clean up after him more than I clean up after my other snakes all combined. They get large. He has almost outgrown the enclosure he is in, and as soon as I'm moved in a few weeks' time I will be purchasing a much larger enclosure for him. Mostly though, they are EXPENSIVE. A newly hatched baby may easily run over $1,000. I got very lucky, and an online friend of mine was putting out feelers trying to find a good home for this guy. I got an incredible deal on him.
Here he is on the day I received him. I try to leave snakes alone for at least a week after they have been shipped to me, but he came out of the shipping box and crawled straight into my arms, so I allowed myself a few minutes to adore him before I put him away.
Here he is a week later, during his first "real" handling session.
We got used to each other quite quickly. I DO have to let him know that I'm coming, if I surprise him by taking him out too quickly he'll strike at me, but if I take it slow he's completely fine. Soon, I started taking him out to climb trees!
In the wild, male Indigo Snakes may patrol quite a large territory, so I make an effort to get him out for lots of stimulation and exercise every day.
These snakes will eat ANYTHING they can get their mouths around. In the wild they eat a lot of rattlers and other snakes, but the also eat fish, birds, rodents, lizards, and anything else they can! This has caused me some problems...like the day I tried to wipe some spots off the side of his tub with a paper towel...
It can also be funny, like last week when I decided to offer him a bite of my pork chop and see if he liked it.
I hope you've enjoyed seeing him, he's a really incredible animal and I'm lucky to have him!
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks