Hello. While watching News channel 8 tonight I heard something that deeply concerns me as a La Crosse county resident. During a brief news story it was mentioned that your august council is considering banning exotic pets from the county. What concerns me about this legislation is exactly what you will deem as exotic, particularly in regards to your possible inclusion of specific safe and docile lizard species into this bans language.



Such species include geckos, and particularly well known is the species known as the Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius). This animal is a small, non-aggressive, and easily cared for gecko that usually reaches 6 to 9 inches in length. Knowledge on the care and breeding of leopard geckos is well distributed and widely known in the herpetological community. This lizard species poses no health threats whatsoever.



Yes, it is possible to catch salmonella from reptiles. However, it is also possible to contract the disease from one of the one in four humans that are carriers. In both instances the proper course of protection is to practice basic sanitation methods, yet I have seen no legislation forcing people to wash their hands after using the restroom or before cooking in their own home for guests. This reason is not sufficient to warrant a ban.



Also, leopard geckos are incapable of surviving in anything but the hottest of Wisconsin summers (thus posing no environmental threat) and is physically incapable of inflicting wounds on people. In the rare incident that someone may be bitten by a leopard gecko their teeth are too small to even puncture the skin, and thus leopard geckos are safer than even the more common pet hamster.



Any other member of the class of lizards known as geckos are nearly equally benign and safe as pets. Also among those reptiles which are captive bred and safe are Corn snakes and Bearded Dragons, both of which are extremely common in the herpetological community and have extremely good track records as being safe animals.



Even those reptiles deemed as aggressive should be looked at closely before being considered for a ban. It is no more reasonable to think that a large aggressive reptile will be a good pet than to think that a large aggressive dog will be a good pet. It is no more reasonable to expect an ill, dehydrated, imported reptile to adapt to captivity than to expect a parasitized, parvovirus-infected puppy from a poor source to thrive in its new home. As I have mentioned there are a number of species of reptiles now available in the pet trade that are born in captivity, remain relatively small, have known husbandry requirements, and can be obtained in healthy condition from reputable sources.



In basic summery I am writing to beg for your assurances that any exotic pet ban you deem necessary have such language as to exempt geckos, bearded dragons, corn snakes, and any other ‘exotic pet’ known to be safe and able to be well cared for from any list of banned species. Just because they are unique and cold-blooded does not make them a public menace. Thank you for your time, and please take into consideration what I have said when crafting this bill.



Also, if you have already crafted this legislation could you send me a copy of it? Again, thank you for your time.

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