Eastern indigo snake – Drymarchon couperi

I will gladly assist buyers with the Federal permitting process. See my overview of the process here.

I will only accept orders from out of state buyers or in-state buyers whose residency I can confirm. No face-to-face sales. I require a $100 non-refundable deposit before I begin assisting with the permit. And a reminder, I only ship as weather allows and via FedEx Overnight Priority Hub to Hub. I wont ship to an individual residence. This protects you and me and the animals. Shipping costs are high right now – probably around $75-$85 – hopefully they will come down soon.

The genetic pool for this species is very shallow since they have not been legal to collect from the wild for decades. Inbreeding is causing birth defects that range from aberrant caudal scales, to dwarfism to lethal heart defects. Be careful who you buy from as even some of the biggest breeders are inbreeding their eastern indigos. My pair is from known quality breeders of this species. My male is from Colorado and my female is from Connecticut. Names by request.

All the baby snakes I produce will be DNA sexed at my cost – no iffy popping or probing!

The following verbiage is required by law as part of any offer to sell federally protected Eastern indigo snakes…

The regulations pertaining to interstate and foreign commerce and the sale, or offer for sale, of the eastern indigo snake are found at 50 CFR 17.31(a), which adopts the regulations found at 50 CFR 17.21(e) and (f), as follows:

(e) Interstate or foreign commerce. It is unlawful to deliver, receive, carry transport, or ship in interstate or foreign commerce, by any means whatsoever, and in the course of a commercial activity, any endangered wildlife.

(f) Sale or offer for sale.

(1) It is unlawful to sell or to offer for sale in interstate or foreign commerce any endangered wildlife.

(2) An advertisement for the sale of endangered wildlife which carries a warning to the effect that no sale may be consummated until a permit has been obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shall not be considered an offer for sale within the meaning of this section.

Like I said, I the permitting process isnt difficult, but it has to be done right. This is the Federal Bureaucracy we are dealing with after all.

The table below shows how the sales will work – this is the real thing now, not an example. Every offspring will be photographed and as your turn comes you will be able to choose the actual animal you want. Your turn will depend on who sends the deposits first, second, third, etc.

I’ll make sure the ventral scales of each animal are visible so any scale deformities can be clearly seen before purchase. Everyone can check back here to see if others are receiving their permits. The sex of each snake will be verified by DNA analysis – NOT probed or popped!