Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This was a while back (about 15 years), but a good friend of mine captured a 7 foot erybennus in one of the gulf bayous in south Houston. At the time I recall being surprised that such an animal was captured so far east. Is this species typically found in this area?

If anyone is interested, then I can contact him and find out precisely where the snake was found.

(A side note: my friend believed this indigo was about to attack and consume a 3 foot cottonmouth... the one that bit my friend on the forearm when he grabbed the indigo!)

>>This was a while back (about 15 years), but a good friend of mine captured a 7 foot erybennus in one of the gulf bayous in south Houston. At the time I recall being surprised that such an animal was captured so far east. Is this species typically found in this area?
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>>If anyone is interested, then I can contact him and find out precisely where the snake was found.
>>
>>A side note: my friend believed this indigo was about to attack and consume a 3 foot cottonmouth... the one that bit my friend on the forearm when he grabbed the indigo!)
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Chris Harrison

Indigos only make up the coast about as far as Corpus Christi. Any indigo in Houston would be an escaped illegal pet.

Are you sure it was a TX Indigo, not some one other taxon of cribo/indigo? The fact that it was in Texas becomes irrelevant once you get up as far as Houston.
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Chris Harrison

My first question to him was, are you sure is wasn't a coachwhip? My friend is not quite so good at identifying snakes as I am (I KNOW my snakes). However, he did sell the animals as a Texas indigo to a reptile breeder a week later. Therefore, it most certainly was an indigo. We have considered the likelihood that it was a pet, and I do know that the range does not extend so far east (just wondered what you guys thought).

By the way, it was captured in buffalo bayou near Telephone Road in southeast Houston. My friend says that snakes and rats are plentiful in these bayous. Therefore, I know that such a place could easily support a few such animals. But sustain a population? I don't know.

Just a piece of friendly advice...
I would've left out the part about selling it if I were you. Your friend could get into some very serious trouble over that incident if the wrong person were to read that!

Eric

I think you can rest assured the "wrong" person will read it.

This was about 15-17 years ago, my friend was about 14 years old at the time (clearly a minor), and I may just be making this story up anyway. No worries!