Newbie here!

[tjcutaway]

Hi! I'm an ex-zoo keeper turned Special Ed teacher, and started drifting down memory lane. I was thinking of my past snakes that I sold a couple years ago when my husband and I owned a Coatimundi (ours didn't cohabitat in the same house well!), and started surfing the net. I recalled a really cool, large snake that I used in educational shows that I fell in love with one summer working in North Carolina. It took a little time to recall it was an Indigo. I found this site, and have been reading some posts. I'm really excited to get back into herps. We recently got rid of the Coatimundi due to changing lifestyle, and now I'm feeling my snake-less-ness. I'm not having any luck, though, finding out how to become an owner. I live in Oregon. Do I have to find a breeder in-state? Or can I look out-of-state? :) Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Traci :)

[epidemic]

You have e-mail, indicating the process generally required to obtain an Eastern indigo and a bit of a diatribe regarding a couple of other Dry species.
This is a great site to ask questions and share experiences pertaining to all things Drymarchon, so feel free to ask and share away!!

Thanks for joining us,

Jeff

[thesnakeman]

Welcome Traci. Anything you need to know about indigos, and other drymarchon subspecies can be found right here. We are here to help facilitate your learning process, and help with acquisition of animals, if you should decide to go down the drymarchon road.

You don't need a federal permit to purchase an eastern indigo from a breeder who resides within your home state. And Oregon does not have any restrictions on such an acquisition, of which I am aware. If you find a breeder who lives in another state, you will need to apply for a federal interstate commerce permit in order to buy across state lines. All the information on how to apply for the permit is available at www.indigosnakes.com On the other hand, if someone is willing to >give< you an indigo with no commerce, or trading involved, you would not need any permit regardless of what state they live in. There are several breeders in California, and there used to be at least one in Washington state, Doug Taylor. He is getting out of indigos, but he may be able to point you in the right direction. I should have some babies this year again, but I will be asking $1000 each for out of Missouri sales. And I will not ship. So you would have to drive a long way to pick up from me. Although I may be willing to meet you part way. And the cost for the interstate commerce permit has been increased from $25 to $100 now. A policy with which I strongly disagree.

Indigos are not ball pythons, corn snakes, or boas. And they require a higher level of care, knowledge, and commitment than with your average pet snake. However, indigos, and other drymarchon will display a degree of curiosity, and intelligence which you would not see in your average pet snake. With proper care, and handling you will experience a relationship with an indigo the likes of which is not possible with any other species that I know of. Imagine a friendly cobra without venom. That pretty much sums it up. It may be a slight pain in the backside to get started, but it is possible, and it is well worth the effort. My snakes have brought me great joy, and I would not trade them for life itself! Read on through all the threads here, and look at the pics. Feel free to e-mail me at thesnakeman@centurytel.net I'll be happy to help you in your quest, any way I can. Oh, and leave the south american raccoons in the jungle! They are nothin but trouble! Good luck, and good will.
T.

[tjcutaway]

Thanks for the info! I looked up Doug's website, and if it's current, looks like there'll be indigos there available next summer. Now comes the hard part of talking my husband into it! :) I've had the pleasure of handling both a cobra and an indigo. The indigo was part of a zoo exhibit that we used for educational shows, and the cobra was a personal pet I encountered one summer working at PetSmart. Both were incredible snakes. I'm definitely an Indigo fan....

Traci :)

[thesnakeman]

So let me get this straight,...you handled a cobra? Venomoid right? I hope. I mean,..please tell me you did not free handle a cobra with all of it's original equipment. You tailed it with tongs or a hook right? A cobra is serious ju ju!

And which zoo had the indigo? I'm currently looking for zoos with indigos who would like to diversify their indigo gene pool. And I am looking into the prospect of artificial insemination for the purpose of introducing new DNA into the captive gene pool. So please point me in the right direction.

If your husband likes snakes, he will love an indigo! If you can find someone with an adult indigo who will agree to letting him handle it, he will fall in love, and your job will be done.

Also, you said, "and if it's current, looks like there will be indigos there next summer". Where? Did you contact the breeder? FYI,..just because their name appears on the breeder's list, does not necessarily mean that they will have babies this summer, or next. I have eggs in the incubator, but only time will tell if I have babies this summer.
T.

[tjcutaway]

Hi there! The cobra was venomoid. I was working one summer at Petsmart, and a woman came in holding an awesome looking large black snake. I asked what is was, and when she told me I was in awe. I turned to get the attention of a coworker to tell him what she had, and the woman slipped it on my shoulders. The cobra was so crazy to hold. I swear it actually turned, looked at me, and checked me out. It was definitely a little eerie!

The zoo that owned the indigo I did education with, no longer exists. They closed last summer. I'm not sure what they did with their indigo (they only had one), but am trying to find a way to get ahold of them. The zoo was a small, private zoo- only about 2 acres total. But they had a lot of animals on display... a couple bears, monkeys, grivets, emus, wallabes, macaques, raccoons, coatimundis, exotic parrots, gators, and venomous and non-venomous snakes. We did educational tours each day, ending our tour with the venomous snake pit. We had about 50 venomous snakes in there that we hooked and educated with. I have a lot of crazy stories about my summer there. All in all, the zoo had probably 300 snakes total. He had some very interesting venomous snakes that were off limits to employees. Other than the dozen extremely dangerous venomous snakes he had, we took care of the rest ourselves- cleaning cages, moving snakes, etc. both venomous and nonvenomous. Lots of fun, and an experience to last a lifetime!

Was always a snake enthusiast (the main reason I went there was to "handle" venomous snakes), and left even more addicted. I've always been intrigued with the indigo we had there. I have more pictures of that snake than of anything else I worked with there (other than the coatis!), and have always been looking for breeders. At a local reptile show, one breeder told me that they were illegal to own, so I stopped looking for breeders. On a whim, I looked it up on the web, and was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn't so! :)

I'll have a little difficulty talking my husband into a large purchase. He was a non-snake person until I met him. I've converted him! It was always fun to have people come into the house, see our snakes, and ask my husband how his wife likes his snakes. He'd always smile before he said they were mine! I'm persistent though!

I looked up Doug's website, and under availability, it has 2007 summer- Indigos with a price list. Is he being optimistic, or perhaps it was wrong?

Traci

[thesnakeman]

Okeedokee,...I see said the blind man.

As far as Doug goes, you'd have to ask him. I was under the impression that he wasn't breeding indigos anymore, but only he knows for sure. Drop him a line.
T.