Keeping Snakes in the United States
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| A very cranky Rattle snake! |
I imagine that
keeping snakes here in the States is not much different from the keeping in
Australia. We do have less stringent laws for the most part with many states
having little or no restrictions on keeping non-venomous species and some
having laws as far as venomous.
I have been keeping
snakes for about 8 years and started with the easy and familiar Cornsnake
(Pantherophis Gutatta). My husband and I went to our first reptile show and
purchased a beautiful amelanistic corn that we named C.S. (short for Christmas
Snake-being near to Christmas time). He was the ideal first snake being mellow,
a good eater and quite comfortable with being handled. We kept him in a small
10 gl. (38 L) glass reptile cage at first and eventually moved him up to a 20
(76L), then 30 gl (114 L) tank. He grew to be a robust male of about 550 grams
and was the father of my first clutch.
Somewhere along the
way I acquired 5 more cornsnakes and began breeding. All my snakes are housed
individually in their own homes and I hold to the philosophy that it is less
stressful and more natural for snakes to live alone. I've never found snakes
co-habitating in the wild unless it was at breeding time, or in the case of
rattlesnakes, denning together in the winter for hibernation. All animals are
fed frozen/thawed prey from tongs either in the cage as the case for arboreals
and venomous to in separate feeding boxes for the cornsnakes and rainbow boa to
keep from ingesting substrate. Babies are kept in plastic shoeboxes with paper
towel substrate on racks. My adults are all housed in custom melamine cages
that vary in size depending upon species and age. Adult arboreals are kept in
cages that measure 48" X 24" X 24" (122 cm X 61 cm X 61 cm). Cornsnakes,
snail eaters and juvenile snakes are housed in 36" X 18" X 14"
(91 cm X 46 cm X 36 cm). I use heat panels with thermostats to heat the cages.
You can see the cages here on my website: http://www.franclycac.com/aboutus.htm
I keep many of my
snakes in natural earth cages with live plants. Cornsnakes have shredded aspen
for bedding and the arboreals that aren't in natural bio cages have sphanum
moss for substrate and pothos plants are in all cages that are lit.
Here in the U.S. we
can keep a variety of species from many countries without a problem, including
the beautiful Green tree python (Morelia Viridis) that is found in your
country. I also keep Amazon tree boas (Corallus Hortulanus), Brazilian Rainbow
Boas (Epicrates Cenchria), Common Snail Eaters (Sibon Nebulatus), and several
venomous species. This includes the Copperhead (Agkistrodon Contortrix),
Eyelash Viper (Bothrops Schlegelii), False Water Cobras (Hydronastes Gigas) and
a neotropic Rattlesnake (Crotalus Simus).
Large boas and
pythons are restricted in some states, Florida being the notable one since the
problem with invasive Reticulated pythons and Burmese. There was some hysteria
as to whether or not these large constrictors would take over the United States
but studies done have shown they have a fairly limited ability to handle cold
or extreme heat, making it impossible for them to move out of the immediate
area of southern Florida. Keepers of these beautiful animals are still facing
restrictions in Florida and we are fighting daily to stop more legislation
Keeping venomous in the U.S. varies from state to
state. Some states such as Florida, require a license and proof of 1000 hours
of hand's on internship with a mentor. Other states, like the one I live in,
have no restrictions at all and anyone over the age of 18 may keep and own any
type of venomous. Other states have a little of both-some permits required, but
not the amount necessary in Florida. There are also exceptions in counties or
cities even within states that do allow venomous.
I keep all venomous
in locking cages with double sliding doors. I prefer having the ability to open
the door farthest away from the animal in order to work or offer food or to
spray the cage. All hides are capable of turning into catch boxes so if I want
to clean the cage and the animal is in the hide, I just lock them in and I
don't have to worry about moving them.
I keep a variety of
hooks and tongs to move the animals to a holding tub with a lid. I avoid
handling them as much as possible to reduce the chance of a bite. Responsible
keepers generally keep a protocol book with medical information on the person
(myself) and treatment protocols for each species for medical personnel. In the
event of a bite a trip to the local hospital would be in order along with your protocol
book. Since I keep an indigenous venomous species (the copperhead) I would have
the anti-venom available at our local hospital. The more exotic species such as
the eyelash viper or the neotropic would have to be obtained from either a zoo
or Dade County (Florida) venom bank who would fly the treatment to the hospital
needing it. Anti-venom is very costly here and has a finite shelf life so
obtaining it to keep in your home is not practical. The species I keep also can
use Crofab if necessary as a stop gap measure to treat until the proper anti
venin is obtained.
There is nothing
quite like keeping snakes and I love observing mine each day. I love the look
of my reptile room with its custom cages that make it make it easier to care
for all of my snakes more efficiently. I make enough breeding and selling
babies to "support my habit" and hope to be able to do so for many
years.
Meg Francoeur
Francly Corns and
Chondros
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| This is a Mojave green that my friend owned. |
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| Here's a lovely Canebrake I found while looking at some property we almost bought (I would have bought it just for this reason only if I could!) |
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