Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings...

I was just wondering if it is legal to sell captive born baby Horned lizards (the ones you get at perstores)? Does anybody know?

Chameleoncrow: One of you're ealier posts expressed an interest in acquiring some HL's. Have you found a source yet?

Chances are you're not in the area but there is a petstore in the Dallas area that's been selling them for the last few months. That's where I got mine.

As for legality issues. . . and someone correct me if I'm not recalling correctly. . . I believe I've seen Les respond to similar question that Desert Horned Lizards are about the only legal ones sold in the pet trade.
Rebecca

I saw a "pair" in my local petstore. but it doesn't seem liek they know much. they didin't know if they had males or females. I am not sure of the sub-species either. Do you know any online sites that sell HLs? also, if a breed a pair, would i be able to sell the babies online? Someone posted a whiel ago tha tit is illegal to sell captive born babaies. Is that true? thanks for your response!

If a horned lizard species is native to your state the chances are it is illegal to sell the babies if the mother was wild caught, usually you have to give them away. California Regulation
excerpt Progeny resulting from pregnant native reptiles or amphibians collected from the wild must be transferred to another person or to a scientific or educational institution within 45 days of birth or hatching. Persons receiving such progeny shall comply with the bag and possession limits specified in sections 41.5 and 42.5.) I was talking with a Fish and Game Officer and she told me that she thought it was legal to sell captive bred offspring even from native species as long as it was second generation. If you have a horned lizard, species that is NOT native to your state and the parents were LEGALLY obtained, the chances are it is Legal to sell the captive bred offspring. Captive breeding of horned lizards should be encouraged while collection from the wild should be discouraged.Jeff
source here : http://www.californiafishandgame.com/ca/district/reptiles/rep.htm

What a silly law if that officer was correct. How does one know if an animal is an F2 captive or a young wild caught individual?

Here in MA, which has rediculously strict reptile laws it is illegal to sell state native species...period. They could be captive bred or from another state. You can not tell without DNA analysis, therefore it is most effective to blanket the species. This is a good rule. It protects our native wildlifeWe have many other herp laws that I do not understand and or agree with.

You are allowed to keep non-listesd (endangered,threatened, etc.) herps. You must aquire them the correct way...by catching one! It is stated in the regulations that is provision is to encourage the "budding herpetologist".

Brian

PS: I THINK HLs are legal pets in MA, but I will check...you never know here. I'll post my findings.

Their are quite a few breeders here in CA that legally breed and sell native reptiles. For example the Gila Monster protected in CA as well as Federally protected can be legally sold here if proof is shown to Fish and Wildlife that it is F2. It does not require DNA testing just a simple photograph showing the young next to their egg shells as well as some records indicating the parents were legally obtained. Check out this web page(http://www.probreeders.com/index.html) and notice they are located here in CA and sell Gila Monsters, Rosy Boas and Kingsnakes all native and protected here. In my experiance it would be much more difficult to find and collect many young than it would be to just hatch them in captivity. It would be nice if people would just stop selling wild caught horned lizards and concentrate on breeding them.Jeff