SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (Australia) 24 September 06 We're all in a dither over reptiles that slither (Catharine Munro)
Pythons and other reptiles are becoming increasingly popular pets.
Ownership licences have shot up sevenfold to 12,000 this year compared to 10 years ago, National Parks and Wildlife Service figures show.
Families, empty nesters and young couples are keeping snakes, lizards and turtles because they are clean, easy to look after and don't mind being left alone - some for as long as a week. A rat a week will satisfy a python.
Pet owners who want to own a native reptile have to apply to the NPWS for a licence. Venomous reptiles require a different licence.
NPWS figures show that the most popular reptilian pet is the blue-tongue lizard, followed by the diamond python and the eastern snake-necked turtle.
Director of Reserve and Wildlife Conservation Michael Wright said the three animals were the easiest to breed in captivity and therefore cheap.
While a diamond python may cost a few hundred dollars, a green python can cost up to $10,000.
Python owner Amy Wilcher said she had been inspired by childhood visits to the Australian Reptile Park on the Central Coast and TV shows about wild animals.
She paid $900 for her black-headed python, Osiris.
"He is very friendly and inquisitive. I love him so much" Ms Wilcher said.
Ms Wilcher said her cat Abby had nothing to worry about because two-metre-long Osiris could only stomach animals the size of rats.
Just what happens when Osiris grows to his full length of three metres remains to be seen.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/were-all-in-a-dither-over-reptiles-that-slither/2006/09/23/1158431949408.html
