Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are there any indigo specific books out there?

not that i specifically know of but you have alot of people on this forum that are eastern indigo/cribo experts/breeders. i'm sure they're willing to assist you in any husbandry questions. robert bruce also has an upcoming article in the sept issue of reptiles magazine. has alot of decent information in there. the only thing i would add is that drymarchon's diet should be more varied (birds, rodents, fish), supplemented, and be careful on the stock you obtain your indigos from as they have been very inbred in the states because of their threatened status and the interstate commerce acquisition permit requirement. hope this helps.

What kind of fish would be good for them? I have a young Eastern that feasts on rodents only right now, but want to do whats best for him if this will jeopardize his health. I knew that they were happy to eat almost anything, but not that a rodent only diet would be detrimental to their well being and such. I will get some bird prey soon now, but am curious on what type of fish would be a good choice. Thanks for any info!

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~Markus

The very existence of flamethrowers means that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves..."You know, I really want to set those people over there on fire...but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."

just my personal preference but i prefer whole uncleaned frozen thawed fish (farm bred brook trout etc...) instead of fish filets. stay away from live goldfish from the pet stores as they may contain excessive amounts of thiaminase/parasites. i think food variety and supplements are one of the keys to drymarchon breeding. eccm swears by his supplements. with over 120 drymarchon hatchlings this year, it's difficult to argue against him.

Yeah I knew about the goldfish being a no no, just wasn't sure of the better fish alternatives per say. My guy is growing faster than any snake I have ever owned and I cant say that I plan to ever breed him, so he seems to be thriving so far. But I do want to provide him with the best of health possible, so if that means changing up his meals between birds, rodents, and fish, I will by all means do so! Can I get fish like that from say a grocery store? I dont eat much fish and have never shopped for any before so pardon my ignorance if it's a well known easy thing to find.

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~Markus

The very existence of flamethrowers means that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves..."You know, I really want to set those people over there on fire...but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."

Markus-

Glad to see he's doing well!

If you're trying to change up his diet, I throw in small quail (like the 1 day olds you get from rodent pro) and once they get to be around 3.5-4ft long they can start eating chicks. I've been feeding a lot of chicks this season. I get those all frozen in bulk, and they're pretty cheap that way. I do feed them fish, although not very often. When I do, I use catfish nuggets or pieces of fillets, pieces of trout, etc. While feeding whole fish might be beneficial, I haven't ever done that, actually. If you were going to do that, make sure you avoid things with spiny fins, or cut the fins off. Adults could probably eat whole small trout. I'd stay away from anything in a bait shop, though. A lot of bait fish that I've seen are frozen with some sort of chemical preservative or something that could be poisonous.

I don't personally think its harmful to feed an all rodent diet, but they do seem to like the variety, and there might be some kind of nutritional benefit. The theory is that birds and fish are leaner as compared to rats, and a diet heavier in those foods is less likely to make them fat, but that's not as much of a worry to me with juvenile indigos.

Robert Harper

Hi Robert! Thanks for taking the time to write that! Great info! I hadn't actually planned on changing his diet until I saw this thread and it made me concerned that I needed to. When he gets to be an adult I will probably look to add some bird offerings and maybe a fish here and there, but for now I will probably keep with the rodents while he is young so long as I know it is not detrimental to do so. He seems to be thriving just fine and is growing quite quickly as well! I am thrilled with him and am so glad I made the decision save up and get me an Indigo! He is so totally worth it!

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~Markus

The very existence of flamethrowers means that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves..."You know, I really want to set those people over there on fire...but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."

I'd have to say other snakes would be the first choice of prey for the eastern Indigo in the wild, ratsnakes are a staple in central and south Fla, I cant say that for all the sub-species or in the north part of the state but the sought after redthroated easterns are from the central and south part of Florida. books can be misleading, ask a pro! JB

That's very true, forgot about that option. Although I'd have a hard time feeding lives snakes to my guy, but if I found a source of already dead snakes to use as feeders I would definitely give that a go. I guess I am in the minority here...I love the black phase alot more than I do the red throat phase, but to each his own yeah

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~Markus

The very existence of flamethrowers means that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves..."You know, I really want to set those people over there on fire...but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."

"I guess I am in the minority here...I love the black phase alot more than I do the red throat phase, but to each his own yeah"

You're not alone in that opinion...although I do love my red phase indigos too.
Ubiquitous Serpent

>>Hi Robert! Thanks for taking the time to write that! Great info! I hadn't actually planned on changing his diet until I saw this thread and it made me concerned that I needed to. When he gets to be an adult I will probably look to add some bird offerings and maybe a fish here and there, but for now I will probably keep with the rodents while he is young so long as I know it is not detrimental to do so. He seems to be thriving just fine and is growing quite quickly as well! I am thrilled with him and am so glad I made the decision save up and get me an Indigo! He is so totally worth it!
>>

My personal opinion, for what it's worth, is that what's best for the snake is to try to replicate it's natural diet. While I have no doubt they will eat an occasional rodent in the wild, all the data I've seen (which is not much, since I don't think there is a lot of data out there) shows that in the wild they eat mostly snakes and frogs, which are low-fat, high-protein and high-calcium relative to farm/lab raised rodents. When young, I fed my indigo mostly anoles, with an occasional mouse/toad or treat of dreaded goldfish. (I doubt an occasional goldfish is going to do any harm, but I understand the concern.) Now that he's over 6' long, I feed him rabbit pinks (lower in fat than rats) and quail. (I wish I could get feeder snakes and whole trout.) This is all just the way I do things, and I certainly don't consider myself an expert, and I'm not knocking anyone else. But if you do feed all rodents, I would recommend sprinkling the rodents with a calcium supplement.

Whatever you do, please share your experiences, since that is the best way we as hobbyists can continually improve on our husbandry practices.

BTW, I once fed my indigo some sort of oily ocean fish (smelt?). He quickly ate it, but when it came out the other end after a few days, it was the worst thing I've ever smelled, even worse than usual. I was literally gagging when I cleaned it up! Never again!

>>BTW, I once fed my indigo some sort of oily ocean fish (smelt?). He quickly ate it, but when it came out the other end after a few days, it was the worst thing I've ever smelled, even worse than usual. I was literally gagging when I cleaned it up! Never again!>>

HAHA!! I will go ahead and skip the oily ocean fish then

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~Markus

The very existence of flamethrowers means that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves..."You know, I really want to set those people over there on fire...but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."