Imported Exotic PoisonOUS SNakes....Legal ???

fordy · #1 04/20/06, 04:57 PM

.................The other snake thread caused me to ask this question............Is IT legal for a herpatologist to raise\breed\keep a Snake like a "King Cobra" in the USA??? Which just happens to be the largest and most aggressive poisonous snake in the world !!!fordy...

kitaye · #2 04/20/06, 05:34 PM

If he is a registered herpatologist yes. They are certified with the Gov and usually are participating in an educational or venom collecting program. Otherwise, I think it is illegal to keep them. Doesn't stop alot of people though.

AnimalLadyE · #3 04/20/06, 05:53 PM

Anyone with the proper herptologist licenses can have venomous snakes. They most often require special permits from the federal government. But if they have it, they can have any snake they want, even a Gaboon Viper, which is currently the world's deadliest snake.

People play with death all the time, fast cars, sky diving, scubadiving, shark diving, all that good stuff...snakes are no different. It's that adrenaline rush that a lot of people love. Herptologists most often want to help find serums for snake bites. So having them isn't a bad thing.

I saw on the Discover channel where a gentleman had several different poisonous snake species and he regularly "milked" them for their venom and sent the venom to a local hospital so that it could make it into a serum for snake bites. Pretty awesome huh! Dangerous, but awesome nonetheless.

AnimalLadyE

arabian knight · #4 04/20/06, 06:08 PM

You WOULD be surprised what people can OWN~! There is an Exotic Animal auction times a year in Macon MO. People come from ALL over the world to buy ALL sorts of critters from Lions, Tigers any Snake you can name.
My friends in Iowa have a Canadian Lynx~! And COULD have gotten a pair of lions for free if her Better Half would have allowed her to take the big Cats. Now she does have a DNR License and takes in orphaned or injured animals from the DNR and rehabs them back to the wild. I bet there are very few people that know this, BUT in the State of Texas MORE people John Does now NOT Public zoos but John Doe Public Has more BIG cats now that Africa has~!!!!! Yes that is correct more Lions and Tigers, are owned by people in the State of Texas then now live in Africa~!!!!

pyrnad · #5 04/20/06, 06:41 PM

I have been to the auction in Macon, Mo. It is unreal what you can buy!!!!
Lions and Tigers and bears O MY!! Apes Zebra etc. Basically you name it they sell it!!!!!

arabian knight · #6 04/20/06, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyrnad

I have been to the auction in Macon, Mo. It is unreal what you can buy!!!!
Lions and Tigers and bears O MY!! Apes Zebra etc. Basically you name it they sell it!!!!!

You bet I have been passed the auction house but not when they were having that auction though. But someday I would just like to take a look at what animals and the type of people that buy these strange critters.
Oh ya my friends take that Lynx in the house on occasion. I have had it crawling on my shoulders. BUT Even De-clawed you STILL had to be mindful that it is a wild animal~!. And In WI. at an Arabian Horse farm I petted a Bengal Tiger on the face. That was Cool. And That guy even Had Giraffes on his Arabian Horse farm along with, but in separate pens, 2 Cheetahs~!

Tango · #7 04/20/06, 07:01 PM

Most states have a permit system for venomous reptiles, just like they do for the big cats, wolves, etc. I never cared for venomous but looked into getting a license to keep an alligator and it was pretty straight forward involving 1000 hours of work with a current license holder and passing a test. There are so many law enforcement officers who do not know that permits are required to keep certain exotics that laws can easily be bypassed. I was offered a free hatchling caiman by a fish and wildlife officer in Florida a few years ago. I was his daughter's teacher. He was the region's supervisor. He should have known better. I declined cause what I wanted was an alligator, not a caiman. Once you are in the very small herp world in the US you quickly learn where to acquire "hots" as venomous are called. You can buy them without a permit through people who are in way over their heads. I am out of the herp world now because I developed asthma but I never kept hots. I did keep Reticulated Pythons (tigers and super tigers) Burmese Pythons (greens, albino greens, and granites) ball pythons (jungle, hets for pied and albino) and a few assorted cornsnakes, hognose snakes, and rat snakes. I love snakes. As a snake lover I now oppose importation of reptiles for the pet industry, an unpopular position but one that addresses the serious problems of allowing a 14 year old boy the ability to purchase a wild caught reticulated python or other foolish nonsense, like the woman who was killed by her Gaboon Viper because she was scraed if she went to the hospital it would be taken away...

fordy · #8 04/20/06, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tango

Most states have a permit system for venomous reptiles, just like they do for the big cats, wolves, etc. I never cared for venomous but looked into getting a license to keep an alligator and it was pretty straight forward involving 1000 hours of work with a current license holder and passing a test. There are so many law enforcement officers who do not know that permits are required to keep certain exotics that laws can easily be bypassed. I was offered a free hatchling caiman by a fish and wildlife officer in Florida a few years ago. I was his daughter's teacher. He was the region's supervisor. He should have known better. I declined cause what I wanted was an alligator, not a caiman. Once you are in the very small herp world in the US you quickly learn where to acquire "hots" as venomous are called. You can buy them without a permit through people who are in way over their heads. I am out of the herp world now because I developed asthma but I never kept hots. I did keep Reticulated Pythons (tigers and super tigers) Burmese Pythons (greens, albino greens, and granites) ball pythons (jungle, hets for pied and albino) and a few assorted cornsnakes, hognose snakes, and rat snakes. I love snakes. As a snake lover I now oppose importation of reptiles for the pet industry, an unpopular position but one that addresses the serious problems of allowing a 14 year old boy the ability to purchase a wild caught reticulated python or other foolish nonsense, like the woman who was killed by her Gaboon Viper because she was scraed if she went to the hospital it would be taken away...

............Tango , I just got finished doing a Google on the G.Viper . Boy , what a beautiful animal . They really get heavy but are rather larthegic unless an individual steps on them . They also said they can strike extremely fast for such a heavy snake . With all these exotic species being available it is for certain that some of these animals will find their way into the wild . Although , I would think that the posionous exotics would be limited to the southern states due to their cold blooded nature . Who knows , I just hope I don't ever find one sunning itself on my back porch . fordy...

Tango · #9 04/20/06, 07:51 PM

My favorite is the copperhead which is right here in my backyard. What a breathtaking experience to see one go by

I was bitten by a pygmy rattlesnake in Florida so I've learned to keep my hands to myself now

Imported and captive bred snakes are released into the wild by people who had no idea what they were getting into, same for the large snakes like boas and the giant python and crocodilians. In Florida we were always hearing of pythons under houses, caiman in the glades, iggies in the keys... and because reptile rescue is largely unorganized many are merely fronts for people who want to get free snakes to breed and produce an overabundance of common snakes like the Burmese.... sad tales....

but I agree snakes are gorgeous and some hots are absolutely awesome

Little Quacker in OR · #10 04/20/06, 08:15 PM

This is the Kingsnake Critter Forums:

http://forums.kingsnake.com/forum.php?catid=63

You will find forums here for venomous snakes and many other types of "Wild Pets" including many types of spiders. And there are knowledgeable people here who import and deal in these creatures that have good and correct advice for the particular state that you are in.

I find them fascinating and informative. While in the desert me and my kids had a number of interesting snakes...rattle snakes, racers(bad attitudes),centipedes that were 8" long and scary! LOL... and Gilas as well as a Tarantula that my boys named Jack Web..LOL "Jack" was a female of course and she lived a long life of 25 yrs with us. The only really frightening creature that we had for awhile was that centipede! Man, that critter had an attitude and as she was not happy in captivity we turned her loose again far from the house!

I love creatures and I think the most beautiful snake I ever saw was an Indigo..but wait..maybe it was the Albino Python...or maybe it was the ruby rattlesnake out at Valley of Fire....??? Can't decide! There are too many really gorgeous species out there.

Have fun, it's spring and the snakes and lizards will be out now. Oh boy!

LQ