Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am moving to Florida (Ft. Lauderdale)from Tucson Arizona at the end of the month. All of my reptiles are coming with me except for my native rattlesnakes. Does anybody on this forum have experience with sidewinders and mojaves in more humid climates. From what I have read, the speckleds and tigers would not fair so well, which will be going to a friend. I would rather not place the others unless necessary. Please let me know what you think. Also I am sure I will need a venemous permit for these (if taken). I understand you need to demonstrate hours or years of experience to qualify in Florida. I assume this is professional and not personal experience? Or if I am wrong, what is necessary? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Brian

I dont think Az will let you take natives out of the state. Fl does require a permit, all I know if that is requires PROFESSIONAL experience and a $1000 security bond, and the permit is $100 per year. Look into the Fl fish and wildlife service website to get all of the necessary info.

Arizona will let you take the native animals as long as you have a hunting permit. Florida requires you to have at least 1000 hours experience with venomous. If you have had these animals for some time you may already have 1000 hours. The cost for the permit is $100, the $1000 bond is only needed for public display not a private collection. I keep a large collection of rattlesnakes (curently 24 species) in Florida. I have not had any problems with the humitiy, I keep species from dry climates on sand with a small water bowl (to prevent soaking). If you have any questions you can e-mail me personaly at hotherps@comcast.net .
Matt Crews

hi,

i am a recent (may 2004) migrant to florida, from a dry western state. i can speak to your situation. i think you'll be happy once you get through the modest hassles and settle in here. the system is quite sensible and reasonable. beats the hell out of "no, period" like in much of california, for example, or "sure, whatever, a paper bag is fine for that cobra" like in, say, texas.

first, on the legal side, the permit is easy to get. i had my wife and mom write letters addressing my competency and experience. (i'm now 35; my mom described taking me herping as a teenager to collect rattlesnakes for my collection; my wife now lives with my snakes and occasionally sees me handling, like when assisting with veterinary-type procedures). i wrote a letter for myself as well, describing my experience, collection, motivation, etc. "i just want to comply with the law" usually goes over fine with law enforcement types. finally i added some purchase invoices from various reptile dealers, showing i'd bought a variety of venomous snakes over the last few years. but that was just fluff, and not necessary. as an arizonan i doubt you've been able to buy snakes from, say, glades. as i recall, that wouldn't be legal...

note that i had/have ZERO "professional" experience, it was all hobby, but pretty deep and wide. the $1000 bond is only for exhibition, as the previous respondent noted. to keep but not exhibit, it's $100 a year, per address (the permit is only good for the address inspected - it doesn't transfer if you move in-state, you have to reapply and repay).

the biggest hassle for immigrants is the cage inspection. the snakes can't be there yet. so, move your stuff to lauderdale, set up the herp room, and leave the snakes in arizona with a buddy who can freight them to you (e.g. a delta-recognized known shipper). or ship them to a friend in florida who's already permitted, if you can, and he can hold them for the 6 weeks you'll need to wait. anyway, once the game warden looks at your cages the permit comes pretty quick, maybe a week and a half or 2. it takes about a month to get the inspection though, once they receive your paperwork and check.

all the cage and room specs, and application forms, are on the FWC website.

i brought about 30 snakes (100% crotalines) with me. mainly western forms. with all the air conditioning here, homes aren't that humid. my snakes are fine so far. i don't have any extreme-xeric forms though. however, it seems that plenty of people here keep them, many problem-free. perhaps others can speak to this. also, the power does go out now and then (look at what charlie did), and the humidity shoots up at those times.

cheers, and good luck.

jimi gragg
st augustine, fl

I just wanted to thank you guys for responding. That is great news. I thought a permit would be way out of my reach, but it seems like I will just have to go through the motions and all will be fine. Thanks, Brian

Brian-

I'm a fellow Tucson resident and just wanted to address an incorrect statement by Matt Crews regarding the exportation of lawfully possessed wildlife (in your case, rattlesnakes) from Arizona. An AZ hunting license is NOT required to export your snakes from AZ to FL (or any other state), nor is it even required to lawfully possess them in AZ. A hunting license is required to COLLECT/TAKE wildlife from the wild and is required ONLY by the collector. If your snakes are given to a friend here in AZ, or any other state, no AZ hunting license is required for the recipient of your gift. AZ has no license requirement to POSSESS "open season" herps, only to COLLECT them.