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Prey items for the federally protected Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi) were compiled from published and gray literature, field observations, necropsies, dissection of museum specimens, and personal communications from reliable sources. One hundred and eighty-six records were obtained for 48 different prey species. Anurans, Gopher Tortoises, snakes, and rodents comprised ca. 85% of the prey items. Most records (n = 143) that mentioned size were from adult indigos; 17 were from juveniles. Prey records were collected from 1940-2008 and were available for all months of the year. These data confirm that Eastern Indigo Snakes eat a wide assortment of prey of varying sizes. This strategy allows D. couperi to potentially forage successfully in many different types of habitats and under fluctuating environmental conditions, a valuable trait for a top-level predator that requires a large home range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the author's experience of studying Indigo snake. The author and his wife are biologists who help monitor wildlife on the Fort Stewart Military Installation. In December, 2001, they have captured, marked and released an indigo snake and named it Chas. The eastern indigo snake was placed on the Endangered Species List by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in 1978. In June, 2004, the author with his wife and Natalie Hyslop radio-tracked Chas which has grown to a length of seven feet long and weighs nine pounds. They got, sample of his blood and orange chiggers from his skin, and took measurements to assess his health. When the author revisited the burrow where he found Chas, he unearthed a male indigo snake and called him Snapper.

We studied the federally threatened eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) from 1992 to 2002 in southeastern Georgia, including a 4-year mark-recapture study conducted on the Fort Stewart Military Reservation. Indigo snakes in this region are sexually dimorphic in size, with males attaining greater maximum lengths. Subadult and small adult snakes grow more rapidly than larger adults. Georgia specimens prey on a variety of vertebrates, including juvenile gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus). The return of adult indigo snakes to the same sandhills in multiple years has conservation and management significance. Long-term population monitoring of indigo snakes is feasible and may yield valuable information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drymarchon couperi (Eastern Indigo Snake) has a threatened conservation status and restricted range in the southeastern US. Evidence suggests it mainly consumes other reptile species. Dietary nutrient analysis is a component of habitat/resource quality and species health assessments, and the results provide guidelines for optimal captive-feeding protocols. Native prey items (7 snakes, 1 tortoise, 1 rodent) had higher protein and lower fat content, considerably higher concentrations of vitamins A and E, and variable mineral content (high Ca, P, Na; low Cu, Mn) compared to the diets of commercially reared and captive-fed rodents. Data suggest that diets for captive snakes may require modification to better duplicate natural food sources. Further investigation of captive diets is warranted to understand possible health implications for wild Indigo Snake populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The federally threatened eastern indigo snake ( Drymarchon couperi), native to the southeastern Coastal Plain of the United States, has experienced population declines caused primarily by habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation. To examine spatial and habitat use requirements of the species, we radiotracked 32 eastern indigo snakes from 2002 to 2004 on Fort Stewart Military Installation and adjacent private lands in Georgia. We estimated annual and seasonal home ranges and evaluated a priori hypotheses examining morphometric and ecological factors (sex, body size, location) associated with intraspecific differences in home range size. We analyzed habitat use hierarchically by examining use across the study area and within home ranges. Annual home range size varied from 33 ha to 1,528 ha (average minimum convex polygon: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]