Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know if owning poisonous snakes, like rattle snakes are legal to own in Phoenix, AZ.

Thanks,
Kyle

First of all, if you don't know the difference between poisonous and venomous, don't get into it. Second of all, the best way to answer your question is call a conservation officer, or better yet, go your local conservation post and ask them. I believe that without a license it's illegal in Phoenix to own a rattle snake, but I may be mistaken. I used to live there and as far as I had heard, it was illegal and can land you some pretty hefty fines or jail time. Even if it is legal, I strongly urge you to turn your cheek to other species, because you obviously haven't thought this threw. These animals are highly dangerous and have the ability to kill you or your loved ones. If one escaped you'd now have your "poisonous" snake running free in your house and no way to really corral him or her and well imagine what would happen if he or she bit your brother, your daughter, your son, your mom, YOU, etc. And like I said, if you don't know the difference between poisons and venoms, you have no business owning a hot snake.

I ment to write venomous and no I don't plan on getting one. I was just curious.

i actually asked the fish and game department in phoenix this because i own an atrox and am moving to phoenix next year. they said it is legal to own rattlesnakes that are native to the area (which atorx's are) however, if you wish to collect the snakes from the wild, you do need a hunters permit to do so, and theres no limit on them. now, as a final note, this seems like a strange topic for the retic forum doesnt it?

The general consensus is true you can keep native snakes rattlesnakes ( few exception named below by Derek). The problem with you bringing them in from out of state is that, on the descretion of G&F they use the term native as "HAS TO BE CAUGHT IN AZ WITH VALID PERMIT". This has come into play on several instances. They confiscated a pair of albino WDB from a guy in Tucson and won in court but at the same time the same agent was aware of another indivdual in Tucson with Albino WDBs from Texas. They used the defense as stated above "native = caught in AZ" so a Atrox BOUGHT in Texas was illegal. This was a case highlighted in the local paper just last year. On the other hand they allowed a guy to sell CB in Texas western collard lizards in his shop while it is illegal to buy sell or trade any native herps. I think G&F are well meaning, it just the law is ambiguous with the current language, the law can be used at their descretion to come after you or not.

....kinda cloudy. Make sure you ask all of the right questions before proceeding.
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Derek Roberts
Sonoran Reptile Breeders
sonoranreptile@cox.net
Anguish
coiled in the gut like a starving worm,
fallen between....
I slide down the hole at the center of my soul,
I've given up, I've given up, larvae rots.
For I let the angel rise...
Samael - Angel's Decay

I answered my question off an azgov website, its illegal.

No its not...

Venom or zootoxin (literally, animal poison) is any of a variety of poisons used by several groups of animal species, for the purpose of defense and hunting prey. Though subjective, the definition of a venom differs from a poison (as used in most zoology and medicine texts). Generally, a venom is defined as a biologic toxin that is injected to cause its effect while a poison is a biologic toxin which is absorbed through epithelial linings (either of the gut or through the skin). Thanks Wikipedia!!!

As far as owning rattlers in AZ, you can own all species except:
Banded Rock (C. lepidus)
Desert Massasagua (S. catenatus)
Ridge-nose (C. willardi)
Twin Spot (C. pricei)

All of the other you can own but there are limits to how many and you have to have a hunting permit in order to collect them legally. You also cannot collect any Grand Canyon rattlesnakes (C. abyssus), from inside the national park. They can, however, be collected if found outside the park.

Hope this helps.
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Derek Roberts
Sonoran Reptile Breeders
sonoranreptile@cox.net
Anguish
coiled in the gut like a starving worm,
fallen between....
I slide down the hole at the center of my soul,
I've given up, I've given up, larvae rots.
For I let the angel rise...
Samael - Angel's Decay