Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am going to be moving to Las Cruses, NM in May and was wanting to find out about the laws for reptiles in that state and city. I know you cannot keep lep lep but what about alterna. Is there anyone on this forum from aroud the Las Cruses area? Can someone point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance. Shane

I would be careful keeping Alterna. They are protected in the state, but if you can prove your alterna are CB or taken legally from outside the state, you might be ok.

ChrisNM, can you chime in on this?

Best Wishes,

Steven Owens

Hi I'm in Deming NM, about 60 miles West of Cruces. Gray bands are protected as is the Ridge nosed rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi)! Check with Fish and Game. They also crack down hard for hunting in state parks with big fines!

Scott D

do you know walt loose...i think he moved there

Name sounds familer, would most likely know him if I saw him!

Scott D

Sankes are my teachers, I'm just the student!

a few websites to start with.......

New Mexico Administrative Code - Title 19, Chapter 35, Part 7 - Amended

New Mexico Administrative Code - Title 19, Chapter 35, Part 7 - ORIGINAL

New Mexico Administrative Code - Title 19, Chapter 35, Part 10

In the first 2 links pay particular attention to non-game regs. Just as in Utah, New Mexico requires you to apply for an importation permit; otherwise it's illegal to import pretty much anything into the state. How the state defines import I don't know, but I assume the intent of the law is to bring anything into the state itself. Utah is currently or has currently made a precedence on this law via Ryan Hoyer. The 3rd link covers NM's regs on protection of amphibians and reptiles. We do have possession/bag limits, some interpret it to apply annually, inferring you can possess more than what the bag limit says. I like to view it more along the lines of how AZ is: bag limit = possession limit, any time, any place, within the state. You'll notice the bag limit info is also not available within that 3rd link. I have a WORD document of the original 2001 regs that includes the bag limits, but I'm unsure how accurate that is these days. I may know more later this month as I'm set to renew a NMDGF permit and fill out our year-end report.

Off the top of my head on what's off limits (protected - either threatened or endangered, state or federal), unless you apply for a permit from NMDGF...

-green rat snake
-gray-banded kingsnake
-blotched water snake
-NM ridge-nose rattler
-mottled rock rattler
-sonoran desert toad
-great plains narrowmouth toad
-gila monster
-western river cooter
-and a few other species my mind isn't recalling at this hour.

As for city code:

City of Las Cruces - Municipal Code - Chapter 7: Animals

After having peed into your cheerios now, on a more positive note...

Come check out the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History when you get into town. I'm the Naturalist there, overseeing our nature center department; which is home to ~31 species of herps native to the Chihuahuan Desert and/or NM, plus a few other critters.

It's not much now, but it's something, and we're currently in the beginning process of moving from a 4200 square foot facility to an ~8500 square foot facility.

Chris
Reptiles & Amphibians of Southern NM (a work STILL in the making - S L O W L Y)

Hi I'm in Deming NM, about 60 miles West of Cruces. Gray bands are protected as is the Ridge nosed rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi)! Check with Fish and Game. They also crack down hard for hunting in state parks with big fines!

Scott D

I've never heard of our G&F cracking down on hunting [herps] in state parks (there are park rangers and then there are NMDGF officers), let alone reading any regs that would warrant such; they seem more focused on those poaching our native big ticket animals, or as they call them big game species. I know the National Parks don't like it, especially when you do it at night. They [National Parks] like to portray anyone observing herps, particularly at night, as poachers, i.e., viewing you as guilty until proven innocent, which is not how our justice system is suppose to work. Many of us, like myself, be it any where in the state, are 9 times out of 10 out to look for and photograph/document our native herpetofauna. EVERY now and then I may collect something, and even then it is within the state's legal limit(s) as such that are outlined within the links I posted in my previous reply.