Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got a rather major question: is the leopard gecko considered an "exotic" species? I ask because I just found out that my county is considering banning all exotics on 'safety' grounds and I'm going to be pissed if they're trying to ban something as safe and docile as my leopard gecko! And if leo's are considered exotic does anyone have any information I could use to argue in front of the city council for their exclusion from the list?

There is no absolute definition of "exotic" as it pertains to reptiles. I've seen it defined a hundred different ways by as many organizations.

With herp laws, the term "exotic" is usually followed by a list of actual species.

I would recommend emailing or calling somebody who works for your county -- follow the information you found to its source --and ask them exactly what is meant by "exotic."

If it's any help, I've never seen a gecko of any kind listed on an "exotic" list.

Take care.

-Brandon
www.nosnakeban.org

>>If it's any help, I've never seen a gecko of any kind listed on an "exotic" list.
>>
>>Take care.

That's encouraging, I was freaking out there for a second. I JUST purchased all the materials required to make a rather professional and expensive all-in-one rack for my leopard geckos, so I'd be pissed if they were all of the sudden banned for no good reason. And thanks for the tip on hunting this thing down to it's source, I'm doing that as we speak actually.

Where do you live? There might be more of your community right here on the boards who would like to help.

Try contacting your county commisioners or county council for wording of any proposed ordinances.

Katrina

Hello. While watching News channel 8 tonight I heard something that deeply concerns me as a La Crosse county resident. During a brief news story it was mentioned that your august council is considering banning exotic pets from the county. What concerns me about this legislation is exactly what you will deem as exotic, particularly in regards to your possible inclusion of specific safe and docile lizard species into this bans language.

Such species include geckos, and particularly well known is the species known as the Leopard Gecko (Eublepharis macularius). This animal is a small, non-aggressive, and easily cared for gecko that usually reaches 6 to 9 inches in length. Knowledge on the care and breeding of leopard geckos is well distributed and widely known in the herpetological community. This lizard species poses no health threats whatsoever.

Yes, it is possible to catch salmonella from reptiles. However, it is also possible to contract the disease from one of the one in four humans that are carriers. In both instances the proper course of protection is to practice basic sanitation methods, yet I have seen no legislation forcing people to wash their hands after using the restroom or before cooking in their own home for guests. This reason is not sufficient to warrant a ban.

Also, leopard geckos are incapable of surviving in anything but the hottest of Wisconsin summers (thus posing no environmental threat) and is physically incapable of inflicting wounds on people. In the rare incident that someone may be bitten by a leopard gecko their teeth are too small to even puncture the skin, and thus leopard geckos are safer than even the more common pet hamster.

Any other member of the class of lizards known as geckos are nearly equally benign and safe as pets. Also among those reptiles which are captive bred and safe are Corn snakes and Bearded Dragons, both of which are extremely common in the herpetological community and have extremely good track records as being safe animals.

Even those reptiles deemed as aggressive should be looked at closely before being considered for a ban. It is no more reasonable to think that a large aggressive reptile will be a good pet than to think that a large aggressive dog will be a good pet. It is no more reasonable to expect an ill, dehydrated, imported reptile to adapt to captivity than to expect a parasitized, parvovirus-infected puppy from a poor source to thrive in its new home. As I have mentioned there are a number of species of reptiles now available in the pet trade that are born in captivity, remain relatively small, have known husbandry requirements, and can be obtained in healthy condition from reputable sources.

In basic summery I am writing to beg for your assurances that any exotic pet ban you deem necessary have such language as to exempt geckos, bearded dragons, corn snakes, and any other ‘exotic pet’ known to be safe and able to be well cared for from any list of banned species. Just because they are unique and cold-blooded does not make them a public menace. Thank you for your time, and please take into consideration what I have said when crafting this bill.

Also, if you have already crafted this legislation could you send me a copy of it? Again, thank you for your time.

I just recieved a short news alert on this from Google (the article itself was in caps, don't blame me).

EXOTIC PET ORDINANCE POSSIBLE
CJS
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 03rd, 2004 07:35:27 AM

MOST PEOPLE DON'T KEEP DANGEROUS ANIMALS AS PETS, BUT LA CROSSE COUNTY MIGHT START CRACKING DOWN ON PEOPLE WHO DO. A PROPOSED ORDINANCE WOULD MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO KEEP ANY EXOTIC ANIMAL AS A PET IN LA CROSSE COUNTY. EXPERTS SAY IT'S A GROWING PROBLEM IN OUR AREA. THE LA CROSSE COUNTY BOARD COULD VOTE ON THE ORDINANCE ISSUE LATER THIS MONTH.

Is this an actual problem or is it a perceived problem? This question needs to be posed to the Board. The letter to the Board was excellent and you need to keep a dialog going. Sometimes these regulations are written because of an uninformed and perceived problem, not an actual one. ~Bill~

n/p
Public Hearing on Wild and Exotic Animal Ordinance in La Crosse County, WI

It would be good to join forces with the dog hobbyists on this one. There's some wording in there about requiring all dogs to be licensed, and submitting proof of neutering for licensing. This means mandatory spay/neutering, and dog hobbyists - and some rescuers - are against that. Usually only the large breeding faciltities (including "puppy mills" are able to afford ordinances like this, which means the concerned at-home hobby breeder who can do temperment testing and genetic testing to improve the breed can't afford to breed dogs any longer. So, ordinances like this sound like a good idea, but usually just causes the opposite of what it is intended to accomplish.

Katrina

Ignore the emoticon - don't know how that got in there (hit a wrong key).

Katrina

>>Ignore the emoticon - don't know how that got in there (hit a wrong key).

Nah, just when you follow a quotation mark with a close-parenthesis it's interpreted as a smiley. I think the "fix" is to separate the two characters with a space.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet