I love keeping snakes and lizards and think that they can make awesome pets, and I'm totally for it. I agree that responsible people should be able to enjoy exotic pets, and that trading interstate should be legal. That said, I think there are some things that are important to consider about being responsible for the eco systems at large.



Burmese pythons in the Everglades have been "eating gray squirrels, possums, black rats, and house wrens. Perhaps even more worrying, the pythons may be preying on native mangrove fox squirrels and wood storks. And they could be competing with the eastern indigo snake for both prey and space. The eastern indigo snake is listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service" (National Geographic)



There are no natural predators to the Burmese Python in Florida, or anywhere in the US, so what will help to keep their population down before they eat all of those native species?



While there are already so many captive bred Burmese Pythons in the US, why isn't the focus on captive breeding? These animals will likely be healthier and present fewer problems. At the same time we could help conserve the Burmese population in Asia (where they actually belong). The same should really apply to all reptiles. Wild collection for the pet trade is seriously destroying natural populations, which is bad not only for that animal, but also impacts the rest of the eco system.



Perhaps a permit system would help prevent idiots who are unprepared for the care of a more challenging reptile from obtaining one from their local Pet Co or responsible breeder. It would be those people who do not want to take care of it after it reaches 10 feet and then decide to let it go in the Everglades or are unlucky enough to be killed by it because they don't know what they are doing.



Perhaps Lacey Act isn't the worst idea in the world, just in need of some consideration for those people who are responsible pet owners.

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