Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have always wanted to keep large burms but state regualtion prohibits me from doing so..I was wondering if anyone in IL knows of how to obtain a permit to keep these wonderful animals. I have looked arround at DNR sites and all the laws just say a permit but don't specify what type or where to obtain one any help would be appreciated.
thank you,
Jason C.

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Unfortunately, there is no permit system to keep large constrictors in Illinois. But, the DNR states that as long as the burm is under 15' you are okay....so, that is still a pretty good sized snake and if you keep a male, you have a good chance of not having to worry about anything. I am able to keep very large burms due to my affiliation with a government supported wildlife center that I direct. Others I know, who use burms for education AND assist in many rescues, are not harrassed by local animal control/authorities because they perform a valuable service. In fact, even wildlife conservation officers will depend on these folks to assist in various confiscations. The bottom line is that you need to use common sense....be responsible, keep the burm indoors, keep in locked cage in a locked room, etc. We are working hard at re-writing the state law so that it protects individual rights while trying to be much more clear (which the current law isn't). There's no easy answer.

This is crazy I never heard that. I know up in Lake county they banned or are still trying to ban large snakes. I agree with Mike, keep it inside and locked when you dont have it out. What is this world coming to. It makes me so mad.

I work part time at a petstore in central il.The county ordinance is you cannot sell any snake over 6 feet in length.Size limits arent enforced here because there has been no public outcry for it yet.At our herp show we had people take pics with a very large female with the DNR breathing down our necks.There were burmese there that weighed over 200lbs.Just be careful and keep a low profile..Paul.

You know why Lake County is trying or passed that law. Its because of that guy who owns Baby, was actually killed by one of his retics, It was a wild caught retic, and he dropped a bag over its head to go in the cage and it moved and he saw him. and nailed him then the parameds brought him back to life. He still gets to own these monsters but they want to keep others away from it. Because of his mistakes others are punished. Grantit it could happen to anyone at any time, I don't ever doubt that, it could happen to me but isnt that my choice. No different then riding a motorcycle. Thats how I look at it. Can't control other drivers from seeing you. Sorry, just am upset that everything that I own, somone wants to ban, for stupid reasons. The Dog for people making them mean, but I got mine from a great breeder and she is what the breed is suppose to be. Snakes, kinda different but if you put in the time they can be good pets.

That incident you are referring to happened about 7 or 8 years ago in the wisconsin dells. The proposed lake county ban happened
months ago, I was one of the people that showed up in protest of the ban. As far as I know Lake county still allows the sale and keeping of burms, retic, and afrocks.

The size restrictions imposed on pet shops is a separate jurisdiction. That falls under the Illinois Dept of Agriculture. They issue the pet shop permits and have the legal authority to establish standards. However, they only have jurisdiction in this case over businesses that fall subject to their jurisdiction. Private owners typically are not subject to their jurisdiction, that is for the DNR. The DNR follows the Illinois Dangerous Animals Act and the subsequent case law that established the 15ft (I thought it was 14) limit. That is the point where a judge determined a snake to be "life-threatening" and hence illegal to private ownership. Exceptions are far and few and it takes LOTS of hard work and interaction with various local and state agencies to develop the level of confidence they require.

thank you for all the replies and this does help me out alot cause I was under the impression that anything over 8' was banned by private owners it was actually kind of hard to find this info I looked for several hours finding nothing. thank you for all your replies.