Florida Looks To Crack Down On Large Snakes

Note the quote from the pet store owner, "Within a year, they could be 18 feet and really need their own room".
Nice to know the local pet shop can be relied on for accurate information.


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Giant snakes on the loose around the Sunshine State are prompting Florida officials to take a hard look at revamping the rules for reptiles.
Proposals include restricting sales and requiring permits for some large reptiles and even microchips for pet pythons, WESH 2 News reported.Huge snakes have been rounded up around the state after they were dumped by owners who apparently didn’t want to deal with them any more.

Pet store owner Carol Hoover said the problem has gotten so bad that she decided to stop selling the larger reptiles. She said people just seemed to be buying them on a whim with no thought to what they're getting themselves into."Within a year, they could be 18 feet and really need their own room," Hoover said. "Most cages that even we carry and can get are not designed to hold a snake like that."

Legislation intended to regulate large snake sales went nowhere at the Capitol this year, so now wildlife officials are looking at statewide restrictions.Under proposed rules, buyers would have to be at least 18 years old and have a state permit to buy pythons or anacondas, which can grow to 12 feet or more.Capt.

Linda Harrison of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said they also want buyers to insert microchips in the snakes."That way if the animal got loose, it's a means of determining the identification of who owns that animal and a means of tracing that animal back to the owner," she said.

Part of the state’s new plan includes an amnesty program where pet owners who may have bit off more than they can chew can turn in a snake that’s gotten too big -- no questions asked.
The state said it doesn't want to interfere with businesses or responsible pet owners, but state officials also don’t want giant snakes prowling the underbrush.A final public hearing on the proposed rules is slated for February.

The next exotic pet amnesty day, where you can legally turn in an unwanted exotic pet, is scheduled for March 24 at Crest Lake Park in Clearwater.
If the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission decides to adopt the proposed reptile rules at its February meeting, the new rules would go into effect in January 2008. The rules would apply retroactively to all owners of animals on the "reptiles of concern" list.

Link to Article