Harmless · Native to the United States

Eastern indigo snake

Drymarchon couperi (Holbrook, 1842)

Also called indigo snake, blue indigo
Data updated October 2026

Eastern indigo snake stretched across sandy ground, showing glossy blue-black scales
Fig. 1 — Adult crossing open sand in a longleaf pine sandhill, its smooth scales shining blue-black in the sun.
Close view of an eastern indigo snake's head with a reddish-orange chin and throat
Fig. 2 — Many adults have a reddish or orange-brown chin, throat and sides of the head.

At a glance

The longest native snake in the United States, a glossy blue-black hunter of Florida and southern Georgia. It is harmless to people and eats other snakes, venomous ones included. It is federally threatened and depends on large, fire-maintained uplands with gopher tortoise burrows.

01

Identification

This is a very large, heavy-bodied snake with smooth, shiny scales that are black with a blue sheen in sunlight. The belly is dark too. The chin, throat and sides of the head are often reddish or orange-brown, and young snakes tend to show more red toward the front of the body. Adult males have faint keels on some back scales near the front of the body. The anal plate is single, which helps separate it from the black racer.

  1. 01Glossy blue-black body. Uniform dark color with an iridescent blue shine, top and bottom, and no pattern.
  2. 02Reddish chin and throat. Many individuals have rusty or orange-brown coloring on the face and throat; a few have white instead.
  3. 03Sheer size and bulk. Adults are thick and long, often 5 to 7 feet. A black racer rarely tops 5 feet and is slimmer and duller.

Commonly confused with

The eastern mud snake is also glossy black, but it is mostly aquatic, has a red-and-black belly and a sharp tail tip.

02

Size

01 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft5 ft6 ft7 ft Typical adult · about 72 in (183 cm)

Most adults are 5 to 7 feet long (152–213 cm), and males grow longer than females. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives a record of 103.5 inches (262.8 cm), about 8.6 feet. Big adults can weigh more than 10 pounds. Hatchlings are already 17 to 24 inches (43–61 cm) long.

03

Range & habitat

Longleaf pine sandhill with wiregrass and a gopher tortoise burrow entrance
Fig. 3 — Fire-maintained longleaf pine sandhills with gopher tortoise burrows are core habitat in the north of the range.

Today the eastern indigo snake lives in peninsular Florida and southern Georgia, with smaller populations in southern Alabama. It once ranged across the coastal plain from southern South Carolina to southeastern Mississippi, and most Florida Panhandle populations are gone. It uses longleaf pine sandhills, scrub, pine flatwoods, wet prairies, hardwood hammocks, coastal dunes and mangrove edges. In Georgia and north Florida it winters in gopher tortoise burrows on sandy ridges and moves to wetland edges to hunt in warm months. Each snake needs a very large area.

State guides: Florida

04

Diet & predators

Indigo snakes are active hunters that search for prey by day, then seize it and overpower it with their jaws instead of constricting. They eat almost any animal they can swallow: other snakes, rodents, birds and eggs, frogs and toads, lizards, small turtles and fish. They often eat venomous snakes, including rattlesnakes and cottonmouths, and appear to resist rattlesnake venom. They occasionally take young gopher tortoises.

Feeds on

  • Snakes, including rattlesnakes and cottonmouths
  • Rodents and small mammals
  • Frogs and toads
  • Birds and eggs
  • Lizards, small turtles and fish

Preyed on by

  • Hawks and other raptors (young snakes)
  • Raccoons and foxes (eggs and young)
  • Feral cats and dogs
  • Cars on roads (a major cause of death)
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake coiled in pine straw
Prey — rattlesnakes.
Red-tailed hawk perched on a branch
Predator — hawks (young snakes).

05

Behavior & seasons

Eastern indigo snakes are strictly diurnal and stay active even on cool winter days when sun is out. They are calm and rarely bite. When threatened, one may flatten its neck, hiss and vibrate its tail against leaves to make a rattling sound.

They travel widely, and individuals can cover large home ranges over a year. In the north of the range they spend cold spells in gopher tortoise burrows, stumps and other underground refuges, shifting toward wetlands in summer and back to dry sandhills in winter. In south Florida they are active nearly all year.

06

Reproduction

Mating takes place from about October through January. Females lay a single clutch of 4 to 14 large eggs from late April to early June, often inside gopher tortoise burrows or other underground spots. The eggs are 3 to 4 inches long. Females can store sperm for years. Young snakes reach maturity at about 3 to 5 years.

07

Conservation

The eastern indigo snake is listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and is protected under state law in Florida and Georgia. Habitat loss and fragmentation from development and roads are the main threats, along with vehicle strikes, persecution and, historically, collection for the pet trade and gassing of tortoise burrows to drive out rattlesnakes. Prescribed fire in longleaf pine and healthy gopher tortoise populations both help it.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages