Reptile & Amphibian Forums

"State of Ohio Declares War
Against Reptile Owners

If you own a native Ohio form of turtle (over 4” in length) or snake (over 18” inches in length), you are now required by Ohio law (O.A.C. 1501:31-25-04) to implant that animal with a passive integrated transponder (P.I.T.) tag. P.I.T. tags are deadly and very painful to implant.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) does not provide any instruction as to how to implant a P.I.T. tag.

- For turtles, AVID, the manufacturer of P.I.T. tags, recommends running the four-gauge needle lengthwise through the front leg or pull out a hind leg and ram the needle into the body cavity skewering internal organs or use a power drill and drill through the shell, drop the P.I.T. tag into the wound and cover it with dental cement.

- For snakes, AVID recommends ramming the four-gauge needle straight into the side of the animal, skewering internal organs.

ØØØ Over two hundred rare Ohio Eastern Plains Garter snakes were implanted by the ODNR and taken to the Columbus Zoo for a captive breeding program. All two hundred plus animals were dead in less than thirty days. ØØØ

If you own an Eastern Box Turtle, Wood turtle, Midland Painted turtle, Red-eared slider, Common snapping turtle, Spotted turtle, Black Ratsnake, Fox Snake, Eastern Black Kingsnake, Eastern Hognose or Eastern Milksnake, Ohio law now requires that you torture your animal to death by P.I.T. tagging it.

Many Ohio residents are currently being prosecuted by Franklin County, Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s office as being criminal for not P.I.T. tagging their pets.

Concerned individuals should call:

— Your State Senator or Representative

— Steve Gray, Director, Ohio Department of Natural Resources at (614) 265-6304.

— Ron O’Brien, Franklin County Prosecutor at (614) 462-3555.

IF YOU HAVE AN OHIO REPTILE OR AMPHIBIAN FOR MORE THAN TEN DAYS AND YOU HAVE NOT APPLIED FOR A LICENSE, YOU ARE GUILTY OF A CRIMINAL OFFENSE!!!"

this is a post by craig christenson of the National Herpetological Lobby.
READ CAREFULLY:
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) does not provide any instruction as to how to implant a P.I.T. tag.

- For turtles, AVID, the manufacturer of P.I.T. tags, recommends running the four-gauge needle lengthwise through the front leg or pull out a hind leg and ram the needle into the body cavity skewering internal organs or use a power drill and drill through the shell, drop the P.I.T. tag into the wound and cover it with dental cement.

If you would have further questions or would like to add something to this post please go to:
www.nationalherplobby.org and sign up for free. If you would like further information or data to support these statements please copy and paste this URL into your web browser>
http://www.noahonline.net/mtlog/archives/in_the_news_herp_related/noah_letter_to_odnrjuly_2000.html#more

The NHL needs YOU to help fight against unjust laws and rulings binding reptile and amphibian owners.

Chris

When properly implanted pit tags are not deadly and serve as a permanent id for your animal. The tag is inserted under the skin, but above the mucle and heals very quickly. Pit tags are routinely used in research and conservation projects without significant mortality.

I have not seen the final legislation yet, but when asked to comment on the procedure, I recommended that the pit-tagging be done by a vet or a trained researcher. Pet store owners and dealers can do this at a low cost that they pass along to the customer.

Did you recommend a minimum size to have the procedure done? I'm not a snake keeper, but it seems that 18" is a little small. Perhaps, as with shelters that adopt out animals too young to be spayed or neutered, a person selling snakes or turtles smaller than are able to be microchipped can give out certificates for a local vet that does his microchipping.

Katrina

"I have not seen the final legislation yet, but when asked to comment on the procedure, I recommended that the pit-tagging be done by a vet or a trained researcher. Pet store owners and dealers can do this at a low cost that they pass along to the customer."

On an 18 inch snake just exactly where do they have room to place a PIT tag under the skin but above the muscle safely? Dogs and cats have loose skin that makes this possible to do easier. Snakes skin is not as loose as a dog or cats. For turtles, AVID, the manufacturer of P.I.T. tags, recommends running the four-gauge needle lengthwise through the front leg or pull out a hind leg and ram the needle into the body cavity skewering internal organs or use a power drill and drill through the shell, drop the P.I.T. tag into the wound and cover it with dental cement.

- For snakes, AVID recommends ramming the four-gauge needle straight into the side of the animal, skewering internal organs.

I am sure AVID does not recommend "ramming" needles or "skewering" organs, so I am not sure why you have decided to adopt these terms.

I don't have any experience microchipping snakes, so I can't comment on the procedure in small snakes, but it is very simple to microchip 4" turtles. I have done this as part of a headstarting program with diamondback terrapins. The microchip is gently inserted beneath the loose skin in front of the right hind leg. The skin should be prepared for injection by wiping the area with alcohol and/or iodine. It is true that this process requires a large needle, but the needle is inserted at a shallow angle, so that it does not pass through muscle and is therefore in no danger of contacting, much less skewering, internal organs. In my experience, the wound heals quickly and without a visible scar.

Either way it goes the NHL is trying to get people to register (FREE OF CHARGE, because some people panick if I don't include that) and just speak your mind. We need to get people talking in order to get things in line so we can finalize our goals. Alot of the people that are responding to my posts in the general turtles, general snakes, and rat snakes forum seem to be very knowledgeable people with very applaudable and interesting views. WE need those people to help us make our decisions. Your comments will help us in the long run and maybe even educate others further as well as ourselves. Thank you for taking your time to respond to this post. The NHL really needs your comments on our forum at our new website, that was just posted last week. Please go to:

www.nationalherplobby.org

Please speak your mind, but without profanity and other obscene remarks. We do have to cater to the people who don't appreciate that language. Thanks again and we hope to see you in the forums.

Chris

The article is rather dramatic. PIT tags are used by conservation biologists to study animals in the field. Most animals over 4" won't have any issues with them and they are quite common in scientific studies. All import animals coming through USF&W are supposed to be tagged (sometimes referred to as micro-chipped). This allows a record to be created of the animal capture or captive. Programs like stud-books for captive breeding rare animals can then be better organized around known animals and bloodlines. Otherwise there would be interbreeding or rampent poaching.

Although the article does not state the intention of the tagging. It appears that the state wants to track animals in captivity. Sounds like a proactive measure to me.

Paul

When it comes to turtles and such, who is the keeper of the data base? The vet techs as my vet's office asked this, as there is a specific registry for dogs with microchips. I try to get any box turtles that come into rescue scanned, just in case I've ended up with someone's field study.

Katrina

I have posted a suggestion on the
www.nationalherplobby.org website for some of the people with questions that they would like answers to.

I get alot of comments stating that people have had their dog or cat PIT tagged. The main problem that I have with this is that a dog or cat has enough fat to where the PIT tag can be placed without major difficulty and furthermore the animals are placed under anesthesia during the process. Snakes and Turtles are not placed under anesthesia or anything else. And for the comment about them being held in captivity the answer is NO. They are being immediately released back into the wild. I am not sure about the effects that they PIT tag has on turtles. I am sure Turtles have a better withstanding than that of a 18inch snake. Just as others have made comment that it is placed under the loose skin in the hind leg. In a snake the tag is placed into the body cavity. Think of the width of a 18inch snake. Then think of a 4 gauge needle being inserted into the animal. You HAVE to be hitting something inside that animal that shouldn't be hit. There is not enough space inside an 18inch snake to safely place a 4 gauge needle. I have made my post on the NHL's website also offering contact information to talk to the care takers at the columbus zoo. This was performed back in 2001. Now the state is making it a LAW to basically put your personal collection through torment and in alot of instances DEATH. Please post any comments or disagreements to my post here at:

www.nationalherplobby.org

We really need to get some information from you and I am sure you would like to give us some information to correct what WE may not know. To register is FREE. We just want some conversation. Please come and talk to us.

Chris