Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, as many of you may know, FL has its Reptiles of Concern permit in effect. I have to come up with a bite response plan and critical disaster plans in the event of fire, flood, or hurricane. I also found out I need a key lock on my brand new AP cage...Grrr...but I refuse to post a sign that reads "Danger-Dangerous Reptile" outside of my front door. That just kind of takes the cake! I'm sure my neighbors would love that one!!

Anyway, has anyone ever seen a template for either of these plans on-line somewhere or know of a breeder that would have one in place?

Thanks,
Laura

This is going to be no help at all, but I bet that they do not have a template / plan in mind either... More often than not this legislation is born from an uninformed committee.

You might try to contact a nearby zoo to get a copy of the plan they have on file, I am sure that it is something they would share with the public and give you a starting point?
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Herp Conservation Unlimited

I agree with Lance.
Your local zoo will give you a protocol.
Also, if you have to comply with a sign on your door stating there are reptiles in the house, you could post one with letters so tiny that they would ahve to have a magnifying glass to read it! LOL!

Randal

LOL...I like your sign idea!

I found out I don't need a bite plan; that was for hots only.

My teen dd is training with the zoo's teen volunteer program and we're going in tomorrow. I'll ask in the am and see what they say.

Thanks guys...

I was not aware that you needed the sign with the reptiles of concern. Seeing that the United States does not have an official language You should consider doing the sign in another language other than english. Latin is the Language of science and law so that would be a good choice. Chinese Japanese or Korean would be good choices as well considering the cool looking characters could double as artful decoration.

That's a fantastic idea. I would do Chinese characters above a picture of a dragon.

Laura;
I don't keep 'hots' or any of the big herps, so I can't really talk to the 'danger' issue (that said, a lot of people don't realise that a pod of 'harmless' newts can strip an unwary man's flesh from his bones in a little under six years!) ... however, I do speak 'government'-ease. Once your itty-bitty sign goes up, they'll come up with minimum lettering sizes - you'll buy a bit of time but not much.
My response would be to speak with my sympathetic neighbours (we do 'herp shows' for the neighbourhood during BBQ season) ... and have them put up the signs as well! Put them in your car, in your office window ... and take them to the various political primaries that are happening right now ... at least there the sign could be taken as a legit warning! Comply with the sign regs ... but comply in bulk!
Good luck with this. I'm sure we're next up here.
Cheers
Wes, your paperboy

"a lot of people don't realise that a pod of 'harmless' newts can strip an unwary man's flesh from his bones in a little under six years!"

That was classic! I will try to stay wary because I have seen newts in the area.

Uninformed committee did you say??? I can keep my own business records and those of my husband's real estate investing business. I can write my own lesson plans for my teaching job and write a 10 page thesis for each graduate class in my master's degree program. I'm no slouch in the academic/business world, but for the life of me, I can't read the darn document the FWC has put out listing the requirements for the blasted "Reptiles of Concern" permit.

And you know what really gets my goat??? This sign issue. My city has a code against dangerous animals. Well, in FL, the FWC has authority over local governments when it comes to wildlife management so the local gov can't tell me what animals I can or can't own. But as soon as I admit that I have a dangerous animal by posting that sign, all it takes is one paranoid neighbor calling code enforcement for me to lose my snake. (or perhaps not)

I think I'm converting 1/2 my garage to a herp room and then I only have to post the sign on the kitchen door.

I think your a bit confused with the regulations. Below is a link that has the new regulations. The bite protocol is only for people who keep venomous reptiles.

http://myfwc.com/permits/Docs/CaptiveWLRuleChangesSynopsisAndAppendices.pdf

Yes, I did find that out, thank you. Like I said in a previous post, I'm having a bit of difficulty interpreting the document. The layout of the outline format is not lining up in the way I'm used to seeing it and the the way the keep wording the hots and ROC together is very confusing.

Thanks again!

Thanks for the link!!!

The version you posted is so much better than what I was viewing. I sent a link over. What I don't understand is that the version I was reading was from Sept '07 and had specific caging requirements. The version you posted didn't mention any of these.

Hmmm.....
http://myfwc.com/commission/2007/Sept07/Documents/68A-6-007CORRECTED.pdf

Glad I can be of assistance. What you were reading was basically the "rough draft" copy that was floating around. Also, you do not have to have any signs notifying your neighbors of what reptiles you keep. That was shot down by the FWC comissioners back a few months ago. The animal rights activists were trying to get that pushed in, and the commissioners didn't buy it for one second. For updates going on with in the Florida exotic community, check out www.rexano.org

I am glad the sign ordinance was shot down. The signs seem only designed to frighten neighbors and generate hatred.

That was my concern, too. I didn't realize that the signs were tied into the disclosure law that was shot down in 2007.

I feel much more relaxed as I try to figure out what to do with a 12ft snake as my house burns down...

Given the light of recent events here in Fla. it might just be one of FWC's "controlled burns" that ends up taking out your house. Perhaps you should ask them what you should do. a few years back I was on my way to Winter Haven for (ironically enough) a meeting about what the reptile industry could do to help prevent this type of legislation. On the way there I casually noticed some guy burning trash in his back yard in some dumpster- type container, aside from casual observation I really didn't pay attention. By the end of the meeting this fire had gotten out of control and had closed the road causing me to detour on the way home. This was the fire that closed I-4 for 2 wks and cut off access from Orlando to the superbowl in Tampa. You figure these idiots would realize that doing a "controlled burn" in the same area at the same time of year after a long drought would be a DUMB!!! idea...and yet these morons want to take our money and tell us how we should maintain our private property.