Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I would like to start a discussion on the matter of the (retrospective) export of carpet pythons from Australia to the rest of the world, seeing as i don't really know much about it. I ask that anybody who knows the answers to my questions answer please! And feel free to add questions as well

-When where carpets first exported to other countries and when was this stopped? Why?
-Are all Australian varieties of carpets available overseas?
-Are there any known differences between the carpets in Australia and those overseas (since changes in climate, humidity, general biorhythms, etc)?
-Does anyone feel obliged to ensure that some carpets overseas are kept in pure blood lineages, seeing as we no longer allow importation/exportation?
-Is the range of Australian snakes available overseas broad or narrow? Any other species other than carpets available?

Thanks to any replies.

-When where carpets first exported to other countries and when was this stopped? Why?
-Are all Australian varieties of carpets available overseas?

These are the only ones I can speak to, and only incompletely at that.

Exporting was stopped somewhere around 30 years ago, along with imports. It was a reaction to the incident involving some kind of toad (cane toad, I think) that was imported and devastated their native flora and fauna. The ban is total on snakes: no snakes in or out. I think there may be an exception for zoos and captive conservation programs to trade with Aussie zoos, but it's not an everyday thing.

I believe that most species are represented outside of Australia, but many of them are pretty rare outside the Australian borders. For example, there are a few Darwins in private collections in Europe but I don't know of any in the US (doesn't mean they're not here, just that I haven't heard of them).

Zoos, of course, are a different story. There may well be examples of every species in zoos around the world, but they're certainly not being bred for sale in the pet trade. In general zoos don't sell animals to private collectors or breeders (there are exceptions, of course).

As for a list of which ssp. are available outside of Australia and which aren't, someone else will have to provide that.

ryanm

Now that would make sense...

It is illegal here to find a cane toad and not kill it. I am in Melbourne, Australia. We are allowed to own just about any Australian species. Most of the carpets being along the North-East Coasts (with exceptions, of course), we just need to apply for an internal importation permit before we do it - this is free.

The reason I ask is that I wanted to import a GTP, since they are basically unavailable here for under $AU10000 (um, i guess $US15000). And so i just wanted to understand what the catalyst was that ceased importation/exportation.

Thanks for the info.

Sorry, wrong login. Bloody housemates never log out.

"The reason I ask is that I wanted to import a GTP, since they are basically unavailable here for under $AU10000 (um, i guess $US15000)."

And now you know why.