Chuck, that is an interesting reply. Before they became protected, Eastern indigos also were considered very common and were available readily in the pet trade. I remember getting a price list back in the 70s from Thompson Zoo in Clewiston, FL, that sold adult indigos for $40-$50 each. Because of overcollecting for the pet trade, coupled with habitat destruction, the Eastern indigo is now federally threatened. There is also concern now for the Eastern diamondback as well. I agree that private land development has been going on since Heck was a pup and that it is difficult to change. Probably some day there'll hardly be any place for people to go to view and enjoy herps in the wild. However, I wouldn't refer to snakes as renewable resources. That sounds a lot like the guy who used to (I don't know if he still does or not) put out the newsletter Crotalus News and thought that rattlesnake roundups were totally OK because rattlesnakes were renewable resources.



Greg Henry

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