Indigo Snake

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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Indigo snakes | status = Conservation status: Endangered | image = dcouperi.jpg | image_size = 240px | image_caption = Eastern indigo snake | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | classis = Reptilia | ordo = Squamata | familia = Colubridae | genus = Drymarchon | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 4 species, see article. }}

The indigo snake is the longest non-venomous snake in North America, with the longest recorded specimen measuring 9.2 feet (2.8m) long, but it is not the longest of its genus. The yellowtail cribo, also of the genus Drymarchon, has been known to reach 10 feet (3.05m) in length, but it is located in Central and South America and is dwarfed by the anaconda, the largest snake in the Americas.

It is carnivorous and will eat any other small animal it can overpower. Its diet has been known to include other snakes, including venomous ones, as it is immune to the venom of the North American rattlesnakes. It often will cohabit with a gopher tortoise in its underground burrow, although it will settle for armadillo holes, hollow logs, and debris piles when gopher tortoise burrows can't be found. Hunters, looking for rattlesnakes, will often accidentally kill the indigo snake when they illegally pour gasoline into gopher tortoise burrows. Due to its docile nature and beautiful appearance, it is a popular pet, although its protected status makes owning one illegal without a permit. Due to overzealous collection and the destruction of its habitat, it is an endangered species.

This genus includes four species: