the boa/python ban

[mommanessy247]

sucks that people wont be able to take their snakes across state lines but does this include ball pythons as well or is it only the large snakes?
i live in south carolina & am planning on buying a ball python but the vet is in north carolina...does this mean i wouldnt be able to take my snake to the vet if it needs it?

[infernalis]

I'm not sure how that will work.

[marvelfreak]

To my understanding it only the big 9. Anything that doesn't get over 10 feet should be ok. The Big 9:
1. Burmese python
1. African rock python
3. Reticulated python
4. Green Anaconda
5. Yellow Anaconda
6. Deschauense's (Dark-spotted) Anaconda
7. Bolivian Anaconda
8. Boa constrictor
9. Scrub python

[Will0W783]

It hasn't been passed yet though, right?
I think that there should be tighter restrictions on giant pythons/boas but an all-out ban is not the best answer. While any old kid with $40 should not be able to go buy an anaconda or a Burmese python without having demonstrated ability to care and knowledge of the species, there are those who devote their livelihoods to the giant snakes. Hopefully the ban will not pass in its current form.

[infernalis]

Unfortunately Kim, all "the man" sees is the news headlines, and they NEVER say "responsible owner cares for snake well".......

Stories like that don't "sell"

If you get what I mean.

[Will0W783]

Oh I know. It just ticks me off that "the man" can't think things through.

[mykee]

I may (and already have) taken a LOT of flack for what I am about to say, but I think that the US government got this one right, with the exception of the boa constrictor.
When left to "their" own devices, the "large animal pet trade has become as close to anarchy as is humanly possible.
As mentioned, any kid with $40 can go out and buy a snake that will get to almost 200 lbs. and 18 feet.
Something needed to be done, and now it has.

Sidenote: up here in Canada, we have municiple by-laws, where cities and towns police their own area and have their own laws regarding what can and cannot be kept within city limits. Many bylaws have a "3 meter rule". Nothing larger than 9 feet.

No offense to anyone else, but up here in Canada, we seem to be a responsible and educated group of reptile owners for the most part.

[infernalis]

You won't get any flak from me mykee.

Regardless of how the humans feel, I take the animals side, and controlling the situation is better for the animals, yeah it will cheese the humans off, MOSTLY the profiteers who are selling the $40 baby retics.......

[Aaron_S]

Mykee, you and I have discussed this before. I'm in full agreement. One of the big issues I have isn't a danger thing or selling them for so cheap. It's because people are buying up the larger constrictors and then breeding them at smaller and smaller sizes (happens with ball pythons too) and it's not really healthy. I've heard of people breeding female retics at like 9 - 12 feet!

I also agree that the boa should be taken off that list. It's not really in the same classification and really, that's a huge economic hit to the entire country. Just think of the trickle effect it will cause.

[emseeKAY]

I did quite a bit of research about that in one of my projects. any related industries would take quite a hit as you said Aaron. Siz made a great solution of microchipping but that would be a hard road im sure as many solutions are. I guess all we can do is educate people, i dont know how many times ive seen comments on youtube and whatnot saying "all snakes should be banned" "the only good snake is a dead snake" and "snakes are poisonous this and that" lol its a hard job correcting people hahaha :D

[mykee]

Thing is, the only media we see on snakes is bad media; It's either a hundred thousand snakes in the Everglades killing of indigenous species, or some testosterone-crazed monkey with greasy hair and a wife-beater with a boa wrapped around his neck in a mall, on the street or a nightclub.
THESE goombahs are the ones who get their faces on TV and end up being the unofficial spokesperson for snakes in that area while all the responsible keepers hae a modest collection hiden away in their home of a facility with no desire to flaunt what they have for whatever purpose.

[Hillsberry]

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com - Where did all the pythons go? (http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2010/04/01/am.zarrella.pythons.vanish.cnn.html)

Looks like the cold killed most of them.Send this vido to your senator!

[mykee]

Hillary, just because Mother Nature took care of some of the damage done by the irresponsible snake owners letting their burms and retics out the back door of their trailer when they got too big to feed or care for, doesn't mean that said snake owners are any more responsible then they were before the winter.

[Aaron_S]

I just saw that video. I would have to point the fact that they said 40% - 50% only. That's obviously a rough number and it only takes a few of these species to make many. I would stick with the ban on the big 8.

[shaunyboy]

watched a programe last night on burmese pythons that had escaped or been let loose by owners because they got too big.it was in florida,they were catching these burm's and killing them to open up to see what their diet was.they were mostly eating birds and croc's.they also tagged a female and followed her through to breeding season.they found 4 or 5 males of various sizes hanging about her hoping to breed.the burm they tagged was a 5 metre female.it showed you it from both sides what the burms ate and what ate the burms (croc's mainly).i can understand some folks fear of these big snakes being able to survive in your climates.we dont have that fear over here due to our cr*ppy weather.
cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

Saw that too Shaunyboy - was awesome watching the python eating a croc!