Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm so excited. I got 9 out of a clutch of 11. I'm so happy these things have a knack for survival, cause I sure dont have a knack for breeding.

I caught a gravid female and raised the pups. is it illegal to sell/trade them since im from california? reading through fish and game made me dizzy.

two of them are highly aggressive, the rest are docile, or only strike when annoyed enough.

That's great! Congratulations!
I think you need a permit to sell them in California.
-----
Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

Yeah check around with your local wildlife and fisheries agency. Like Pyromaniac said, maybe not illegal with the appropriate permit. I guess you could just release them in the area you captured the mom too. However, release of animals once in captivity is usually illegal in most (all?) states for various reasons.

well the animals are local to the area. letting them go in the area is okay weather the law says so or not. These idiots making laws.. I understand a introducing a different species, or one from another area, but if they block native animals they're retarded.

Well, if you do release them, I would release them as close to the area if not the exact area the female was captured and not just anywhere. Thats where the population would theoretically sustain them. Releasing them in a foreign area may cause eco problems by stressing the populations, etc. Just my opinion.

yeah the plan was to spread them out over about a mile. just gets to me how we keep pushing everything out by population until its gone.

There are multiple issues here that need to be addressed. First, congratulations on your hatchlings! Cal kings are voracious eaters and awesome snakes. Next, I want to address some of your questions and respond to a comment or two of yours. Since you are a resident of California you will need a native reptile propagation permit to legally sell or trade your hatchlings. However, if you don't want to purchase a permit (around $50) then you have 40 days from the date of their hatch to gift the animals away (trades are illegal too). Lots of people love Cal kings so finding homes won't be difficult.

As for releasing snakes it is illegal...and for some very good reasons. First and foremost, Cal king populations aren't hurting. When you release animals into the wild it is reasonable to assume that that area is at it's carrying capacity. In essence you'll simply be displacing another snake or dooming that one to death. Second, diseases can and are introduced when captives are released. If you keep other reptiles they might transmit something to the hatchlings you release and then the native population will get hammered; these are things that can and have happened. The laws are there for a reason, whether you think they're retarded or not. This one however is not retarded. It's a darn good one that I hope you obey.

Congrats again!

Mitch

zonatahunt

Since you are a resident of California you will need a native reptile propagation permit to legally sell or trade your hatchlings. However, if you don't want to purchase a permit (around $50) then you have 40 days from the date of their hatch to gift the animals away (trades are illegal too)

Okay $50 isn't bad I can do that. I was expecting something outrageous. And when you say trades are illegal is that both after and before the 40 day mark?

First and foremost, Cal king populations aren't hurting

I disagree in this area. I might be wrong but I've worked nights across all this farmland for years i put in 130mi a night in the company truck and only seen two DOR gophers, no kings. The area is completely ripped out by tractors bi yearly killing everything in the ground. I'll listen to you cause you brought up something I hadn't though of. although I have no other reptiles, I did bring in store bought mice/rats to feed the mama. Those might have disease or bugs of some sort.

Thanks for clearing that up. oh, your name zonata thats mountain kings right? got any pictures do you breed them? I spent years in the santa cruz, and sierra mountains trying to find those and never seen a one. Just some rubber boas.

Regardless of where you are in the 40-day grace period, without a permit it is illegal to trade, sell, or use for barter your hatchlings. That 40-day period simply allows you to be over your legal limit without punishment if you don't have a permit.

As for Cal kings, you can drive roads in areas where they're incredibly abundant, but if the conditions are wrong you might not see a single snake. They're prolific animals and are incredibly resilient. Generally it takes paving their habitat to extirpate them.

As for zonata, yes, I've bred a few! Here's couple of my hatchlings over the years.

Mitch

nice z's Mitch! is that big headed one a a multifasciata?

just beautiful

$###
permit. they always try to get a chunk out of everything dont they.

www.captivebred.com/Co-Habitating%20lampropeltis.htm
Since they hatched, am giving you some information on your original concern about would they eat each other. It is recommended to keep the hatchlings separate and feed them only mice to condition them to a rodent only diet.

www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/pdffiles/fg1502.pdf
Sorry this is pdf format.
-----
Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

Law says give them away unless you get the permit. You can't trade because trading implies a possibility of selling what you got in trade, thereby making money off the original WC king.

With a valid Cal Fishing License, you can have I believe 4 total without any other permits. Read the link the others provided to verify.

Where are you in Cal?
-----
Mark