Reptile & Amphibian Forums

quirements For Python Owners In Fla.

I would be surprised if this doesn't pass.
Link

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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Looking at the species covered and the area they are in, I understand, but I disagree with the wack job policy. I'm sure it is meant to keep people from releasing unwanted, huge, potentially agressive animals into an environment where they would thrive. Why don't they just increase funding to animal rescues that are designed to take these animals in. And fine petstores for not educating customers on the finer aspects of "This Animal Will Get Huge". And, yes, most of those species can be tamed down to handelable, but how many people that are wlling to release an animal are really going to spend the time to do so?

Policies like this only hurt those that are responsible.

If all the reptile/pet owners packed up and moved to one state, all the others would realize the impact that pet owners have on a community and a state economy.
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Quitters never win, winners never quit, but those who never win and never quit are idiots

Looking at the species covered and the area they are in, I understand, but I disagree with the wack job policy.

I'm not sure about the entire policy but I see both good in bad in the regulation. Unfortunately, there really are too many irresponsible herpers on this planet - they must be regulated.

Why don't they just increase funding to animal rescues that are designed to take these animals in. And fine petstores for not educating customers on the finer aspects of "This Animal Will Get Huge".

Increase funding? From where? Who would you tax? (Sadly) We can't even keep up with the millions of unwanted cats and dogs that are destroyed annually.

And, yes, most of those species can be tamed down to handelable, but how many people that are wlling to release an animal are really going to spend the time to do so?

Perhaps, but when it comes to eating Fido and Lucky, you just can't remove instinct. I'm not sure it's aggression that prompts keepers to release their animals. More likely, it's size: feeding is tougher and the cleanup really stinks.

Policies like this only hurt those that are responsible.

An unfortunate reality that has been since the dawn of time.

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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Yes it hurts those who are responsible with there herps, but it's only for the larger snakes that people are letting go in florida and causing peoples lives to be in danger. I think it's a great idea actually, and should be passed ervywhere that those not responsible enough to have a retic or af. rock or boa, shouldn't have one then.

I read the article about that over at the python's forum, and I actually liked it. Seems to be along the same lines as licensing and microchipping your dog. It's a much, MUCH better solution than a couple other states have proposed - the banning of all constrictors/pythons, which would include something as nonlethal as our ball pythons.

We're gonna hafta deal with some kind of regulation sooner or later, and the Florida legislation seems much, much more reasonable than anything else I've seen so far.

~jenny
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1.2 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, and Periscope)
0.2 rescue chinese water dragons (Yoni and Linga)
0.0.1 Mountain Horned Lizard
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
1.0 gerbil (Yerbul)
0.1 mice (Cute Girl Mousy)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
1.1 betta fishes (Vicious and Killer)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
3.0 horses (Buddy, Sam, and Scout)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
0.0.1 chupacabra (it ate our chickens)

jenny.thegreenes.org

I strongly agree for some sort of liscencing for the giant constrictors. I think it is wrong to lump all pythons or all boids in to the same ban or regulation but something should be done for the giants. Two possible suggestions I have is a liscencing program simuliar to florida's Hot laws. TO get liscenced you need to have 1000 hours of training by a lisceneced person. The only downfall is that people would/could start selling their training. Another possible method would be to microchip all snakes and jave their codes registered and documented. When said snake is sold the information could be adjusted on the database. WHen said snake is released illegally or escapes from being housed improperly, then the wildlife officer can scan the microchip and find out who is the owner. Then they can be notified and fined or what not.
As much as it sucks for the honast keeper, something does have to be done to limit the carelessness and the implulse purchases of these wonderfull animals. Todd

Couldn't the illegal snake dumper just pop out the micro chip then dump the snake anyway? None of my guys are chipped, but it must be alot easier to locate the microchip inside a snake than something like a dog? As long as you can feel the chip, you could get it out.

If someone is gonna dump their snake on the side of the road like a piece of garbage, whats to stop them from doing a little microchip surgery first?

If someone is gonna dump their snake on the side of the road like a piece of garbage, whats to stop them from doing a little microchip surgery first?

Hopefully, this legislation will reduce the number of people even getting the chance.

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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Agreed, this legislation should greatly reduce the number of idiots who would dump their pets... eventually.

I would guess that any would-be dumpers wouldn't try to remove the microchip first, just because that would require some effort on their part, and they are probably dumping the snake in the first place because they want to get rid of it with the least amount of effort possible on their part.

Additionally, I opted to have a microchip inserted into my largest female BP a little over a year ago. Initially, it was ridiculously easy to find the chip under her skin - you didn't have to feel for it, just look. Now however, I can only find it because I know it is there, and I know where - and it is getting harder to find all the time.

As long as this legislation leaves Ball Pythons out of the mix (since they are not hazardously large), all sounds good to me.

We should of course expect that eventually something similar will be done for the BPs, because they can thrive in FL just as easily as the Burms and Amethistine pythons can. Luckily, the giant species are creating enough problems for wildlife officials and whatnot that they will have to be curbed first... and once the authorities get the bugs ironed out of that system, they should be able to approach Ball Python legislation with more of an educated stance.

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

I just made this post in the Morelia forum by coincedence, but what constitutes Morelia Amethstina? There is hardly a viable captive population of Australian scrub Pythons ( the true Morelia Amethstina ) in captivity ( US and Europe ), so I really don't see them overrunning Florida anytime soon

one fertilized female is all you need to start a bad thing......

.....and once ''they'' start regulating snakes.......they'll stick their foot/hand/into everything........
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...........all you have to do is try it........
...........studies are fun.............

Jay, are you aware of a link to the specific proposed regulations. My search of myflahouse.com brought up three documents none of which preclude ball pythons from these regulations. Before I could support or reject any kind of regulations I would have to see exactly what species it would include. I am not comfortable with the species that are mentioned in the news story. The documents that I read use the term "regulated reptiles" which could eventually include every species of snake.

Jeff

The biggest problem we have in florida is the vanishing natural habitat!!! Exotic vegetation is destroying most of the preserves and native habitats.Every year there is another couple exotic plants added to the list of invasive plant species.Humans are the biggest problem.I saw a news report last night people in residential area out west concerned about our cougars getting there dogs and want them removed.It should be the other way around.
Stop destroying our natural areas.I think we should consintrate on the bigger picture .
Just my opinion
Mike

Although I don't have a problem with regulating and licensing of snakes - the unfortunate issue is that it's not the responsible people that are going to purchase/breed/sell the snakes with the microchips that have to be monitored - it's the ones that will skirt the law import unchipped snakes from other states or bring them in and not register them that are most likely to be releasing their animals or improperly keeping them. I do think that it will be extra incentive for people to do the right thing and not just release them in the wild but properly place them or find a rescue - I do hope that a lot of that money raised is going to go towards funding rescues.
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Tosha