Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am having a hard time figuring out the permit requirements for rear fanged in Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife website is very vague about permits for such animals.

Does anyone know for sure if the state requires a Class III permit for rear fanged like Boiga, Hydrodynastes, etc...or do you need the same permit as you would for a front fanged snake (a Class I permit)? (Or do you not need one at all?)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

~Alex

Most rear fanged snakes require the same permit as front fanged snakes in Florida.
Ryan

Ok then...I guess I might as well ask about the specific snakes that I was looking into...
Do you happen to know for False Water Cobras and Mangrove Snakes what permits are requried?

Currently, the following genera of rear fanged colubrids are officially classified as venomous in Florida:

Rhabdophis, Boiga, Dispholidus, Thelatornis, and Atractapsis

For any of those, you will need a Venomous Reptile Permit (1000 hours, a secure snake room, mandatory inspection and now lots of extra paperwork). Hydrodynastes is currectly not listed.

Go to www.flrules.org and do a text search for "venomous" and you'll find all the new regs.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

Thank you very much for the info!

So, if I wanted to purchase a pair of False Water Cobras sometime in the near future from either someone in Florida or from out of state, do you know if I need to have a Class III Permit...or did you mean that I don't need any type fo permit at all (currently)?

Thanks,
Alex

In Florida, the only snakes you need a permit to POSSESS are venomous snakes, "Reptiles of Concern" (burmese, reticulated and african rock pythons and anacondas) or protected species.

The Class III permit is for "wildlife" (reptiles are excluded from the definition) or to exhibit or sell animals (including reptiles for some reason that is not clear to me).

So, as far as I can tell, you don't need a permit to buy an FWC. This advice is, of course, worth what you paid for it, so hopefully someone else will pipe up if i missed something...
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

Ok...much appreciated!