Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in Texas and want to add a pair of eastern indigos to my collection, I have cribos and have wanted to work with indigos for years and I now have the funds to do it. Aside from an interstate commerce permit, what else do I need to acquire them from out of state? Also on the permit application, it asks for all the information up front regarding the animals, if the permit is required to obtain the snakes, how would I know the info about the seller/animals before I set up a purchase? If anyone else has gone through this, advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks
-----
Dustin Smith

Dear Dustin,
this is a curious "catch 22" of the government, the permit application clearly states you must have the permit prior to the sale, yet you probably won't be able to fill it out until you have virtually set up the sale... thus, I suggest you locate a breeder/source, and they will assist you with their part of the permit, and then you submit it. You will wait for a varied amount of time, often 4-12 weeks, and then it arrives. Then you may proceed with the transportation and completion of the sale. In the mean time, cheques have cleared, the breeder gets your hatchling well established etc. I have sold indigos to Texans, and it went smoothly.
It would be wise to contact Texas Parks & Wildlife Wildlife Permits coordinator 4200 Smith School Rd. Austin, TX 78744 (512) 389-4491 In the past, a very nice woman named Karen Pianka was the permit coordinator but it has been awhile...Since Texas has restictions on possession of native Texas D.c.errebenus indigos, it is important to get them to stipulate that possession of D. couperi (or D. c. couperi) are not so restricted. Try to get it in writing if you can...

USFWS is responsible for the interstate permit, and they play hardball, so do it correctly, dot your I's and cross your T's. good luck, it is easier than it sounds, it requires patience. Good Luck, you will have fun once it is done, Vic

Hi Dustin,

Most Indigo breeders will help you with the permit application & in my experience do most of the work. The breeder will need information from you & will mail you the application. Make copies just in case it goes astray, as this happened to me, then mail it to Atlanta.
You may have to wait up to 12 weeks to receive your permit & then you need to send copies to the breeder in order for them to be shipped to you.

They are fantastic snakes & worth the wait & effort, I am hoping to breed my first easterns this winter, good luck & enjoy.

Andy.

hi dustin,

i had the same issue when i acquired my interstate commerce permit. it basically obligates u to acquire from those people you list only BUT i talked to cameron shaw (the wild life biologist that actually issues the permit in florida even though your application goes to atlanta, ga's office) and he said if the people u are acquiring the permit from changes, you can modify your permit as long as it is not expired. therefore, you are no longer obligated to buy from that person(s). if u need any info on how to properly apply for the permit e-mail me at tchiang@pol.net and i'll walk u through it. it's well worth it to do it legally because if u plan to breed/sell offspring in the future, having a paper trail that can verify that your stock came from a legal source is very important especially if your future customers get in trouble with us fws. my two cents.

I have also found this to be true through conversations with Cam Shaw. He is very efficient, returns phone calls, returns e-mails and is really helpful. Cam informed me that one single permit can cover more than one snake and more than one breeder. My recent permit covered two baby indigos from a breeder in Connecticut and one baby from a breeder in California. I believe you can identify as many breeders and as many snakes as you wish on your application with one single $100 payment.

My first permit application went very smoothly & took 3 months. The second application from the same breeder went 3 months & still nothing. Cam shaw replied to my email on the matter & said he had not received the app, [ lost in the mail } so i sent in a second application, shortly after, while the second app was in the mail he received the first app.
After a little confusion & a few emails Cam rushed this original application through within two weeks. I asked him to disregard the second application & destroy the second check.
He was very helpful on the matter & replied to my emails promptly.
Easterns are well worth the effort & wait, they are fabulous snakes.
good luck & enjoy.

Cam is good, seems to care about his job. It is the main office in Atlanta (Cam is in Florida) that is inefficient. The Atlanta office also lost my original application and check. Cam stepped in an expedited my resubmitted application.