# Corn Snake



## triptych_angel (Feb 20, 2006)

I've heard that it is illegal to keep corn snakes in Australia...does anyone know why they are illegal?

Cheers

Emma


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## olivehydra (Feb 20, 2006)

Welcome to the site, and what a great question to start with :wink:


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## triptych_angel (Feb 20, 2006)

Why thank you


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## olivehydra (Feb 20, 2006)

All exotic reptiles are illegal in Australia. Where abouts are you??


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## Gerry (Feb 20, 2006)

Emma in Oz we're only allowed to keep animals that are native to the country. You may not be able to keep corn snakes but there is no lack of variety in the species we have.

oh and welcome to the site.. ah..... fear and loathing. one of the best books ever written


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## triptych_angel (Feb 20, 2006)

Oh i see, fair enough...I live in Sydneys West. Was just curious as i've been researching on the web and they are very beautiful snakes but when enquiring was told they were illegal. I only know of one place where i can get pythons and that is at Kellyville Pets although they only have a very specific range. Im new to this and am researching at this point...any help would be appreciated.


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## Jason (Feb 20, 2006)

you cant actually sell or buy herps from a pet shop either, but there is plenty in our for sale thread and on other sites. welcome to the site.


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## redline (Feb 20, 2006)

Welcome 2 the site triptych_angel


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## herptrader (Feb 20, 2006)

You will get a good feel for what is available in Australia ... and at what price by visiting http://www.herptrader.com.au and clicking the *Herp Trader* button.

Of course I am biased because my wife is the *Herp Trader #1* but hey, it is still Australia's top Herp Trading site.


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## Greebo (Feb 20, 2006)

Welcome to the site.
Snakes are like just other pets. You will normally get them a lot cheaper from a breeder than buying through a pet shop.


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## triptych_angel (Feb 20, 2006)

Thanks for the info guys


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## kahn_10 (Feb 20, 2006)

i recommend herpshop for any needs and herptrader for reptiles cause thre the bomb!!!


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## peterjohnson64 (Feb 20, 2006)

Welcome Emma. You should also join your local Herp Society. There is the hawkesbury one and Macarthur one. someone here will point you in the right direction depending on whether you are closer to Windsor or Campbelltown. Please do not rely on Pet Shops for any advice. The best place in the world for the advice you seek is right here. Just chat for a while and you will learn heaps.


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## peterjohnson64 (Feb 20, 2006)

Oh, sorry, and no-one has ansswered your question. WHY are corn snakes illegal? Mmm. Many people will have different answers. But is is a government regulation (Federal I think) that no exotic retptiles can be kep in Aus for fear of them escaping and reaking havoc on our native animals. You know, like cats, dogs, mynah birds, rats, rabbits, cane toads and all the other stuff that is already here.

But they do have a good point. Look at what red eared sliders are doing in Sydney now (they are introduced turtles). Corn snakes may be better adapted to surviving in Australia than native snakes and therefore may decimate wild populations of our native ones. That is the reason WHY. whether we agree or not.


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## KathandStu (Feb 20, 2006)

Welcome *triptych_angel*,

We might be quite close to you if you are in Western Sydney. We are located in Parramatta.

Have you ever handled or seen a captive "pet" snake? If you ever want to see what sort of set up is required & have a little hold of one we have a baby Diamond x Carpet python (about 10 months old) here currently & two adult Childreni pythons on the way & you are most welcome to come & have a look-see. 

I know that before we got our first python I had never even touched a real snake, let alone let one wriggle around my wrist! It's an amazing experiance & I can guarentee that when you get one snake you won't be able to stop! I swore (ask anyone on this site) that I would stop at just one snake & only 3 months after getting that snake I am getting another two!

Anywa enough rambling, welcome again & as has been said before, ask lots of questions, everyone here is very knowledgeble & helpful

Regards,
Kathy.


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## Rennie (Feb 21, 2006)

Welcome, I got my first python from Kellyville, don't worry its legal, you're really buying it off a breeder there and he was quite helpful and friendly but as has been said, you can get anything here (or from our sponsors) from info to pets much cheaper.


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## moosenoose (Feb 21, 2006)

Yes, they are illegal, because heaven forbid they got out into our wild populations like cats, dogs & toads etc I mean, it’s not as if you can’t buy exotic animals of literally every other type in this country already – birds and fish included :? It must be a hell of a lot harder to legalize and quarantine the import of reptiles than it is birds, I mean, I thought there was this thing called the Reptile Flu Epidemic getting around?????? Has anyone seen the price of a Macaw lately?? :lol:

Hi and welcome to the site Emma, you’ll find something useful in amongst my sarcasm


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## herptrader (Feb 21, 2006)

I thinik you will find that exotic Moose cannot be kept legally in Australia either ;-)

If you are interested you may wish to seach past posts on the subject of exotics. When ever the subject comes up the debate tends to get a bit heated.

(The search function is located on the bottom left hand corner of most APS pages.)


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## NinaPeas (Feb 21, 2006)

Jason said:


> you cant actually sell or buy herps from a pet shop either, but there is plenty in our for sale thread and on other sites. welcome to the site.



Is this just a Sydney thing? A lot of pet shops around me sell them.


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## dpeica (Feb 21, 2006)

NSW thing.
I'm glad they can't be sold in shops.


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## peterjohnson64 (Feb 21, 2006)

The laws in NSW are not as clear as they shold be. They state that reptiles "can not be traded THROUGH pet shops". It does not merely sate they cant be sold BY pet shops but uses the word "THROUGH". It is therefore questionable whether a herp being sold via a notice board in a pet shop is being sold 'THROUGH" the pet shop. I have asked NPWS this question and they were not willing to commit themselves to an answer. I accept that because it is a courts decision to interpret the law, not a publc servant's.

My licence also states clearly that "the licensee shall not advertise for the disposal or acquisition of protected fauna the subject of this licence, except in a publication of a society of keepers of fauna authorised to be held under this licence of which the licensee is a member".

What this means is that the only place I can advertise to buy or sell a reptile is through the Macarthur Herp Society newsletter or web site (I will assume a web site is a publication - I dont know of any precedents there). I am not able to advertise on this web site, or any other public advertising site according to the conditions on my licence.

You can say all you like that people do it, and clearly NPWS know that we do it, but the wording on your licence is quite clear. So, this would also extend to a notice board in a pet shop. Again, I have contacted NPWS on this and they have not been willing to commit to whether or not these practices are legal.

Oh, and it doesn't matter that the web site is in Vic. Your licence says you can't advertise. It doesn't say you can't advertise in NSW.

Just food for thought. Perhaps we should understand just how flexible Jeff Hardy is being towards us. And especially to people who are clearly promoting themselves on a regular basis.


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## Rennie (Feb 21, 2006)

Peter, if they decided to enforce that clause then I think a lot of breeders in NSW would lose their licences.


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## JeffHardy (Feb 21, 2006)

The ban on commercial trade was imposed by government NOT NPWS. The objective was simply to prohibit pet shops from having reptiles on display, or advertising through the popular press, which would in turn encourage impulse purchasers who had no knowledge of or commitment to the reptiles they bought. There is enough of a problem with hermit crabs, spiders and scorpions etc that only last a few weeks in the hands of impulse buyers, without opening up access to reptiles. NPWS is not concerned about advertising on reptile specific web sites or in reptile specific publications. Petlink could be a problem.


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## zulu (Feb 21, 2006)

*re Corn*

Hows all your letter lickers going in there anyway jeffrey,you have to get them started on the boots and let them work there way up


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## peterjohnson64 (Feb 21, 2006)

Thanks for confirming that Jeff. This is the first time I have seen that in writing. Seems the department is applying the "mischief rule" over the "literal rule". And I think with your knowledge of what we are doing a court would take this line as well.

But surely making people wait 2 weeks for a licence would stop impulse buying? If a person walks into a pet shop and says "I'll have that bearded dragon thanks" and the pet shop says "Yeah, sure, can I have your licence number" then if the person already has a licence then the impulse has perhaps been negated by their 2 week wait and pre-determination to buy a reptile. If they don't have a licence then they are not able to buy the lizard and have to come back in 2 weeks after outlaying their hard earned on a licence. Of course, this doesn't happen with scorpions or spiders because Joe Public can simply walk in, lay cash on the counter, and walk out with a new animal. Can also do it with cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, ferrets, chickens etc etc.


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## JeffHardy (Feb 21, 2006)

Zulu, we don't lick letters, let alone boots. We are directed by our political masters and it would not matter even if we were in a positition to, or if it was desirable, to lick boots to achieve our conservation based objectives.

The two week suggestion is appreciated, but not a realistic deterrant. It is probable that within a few months a person over the age of 18 will be able to apply for and be immediately granted a Class 1 bird, reptile or frog licence on-line. Muich the same as amateur fishiong licence.


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## Rennie (Feb 21, 2006)

But I guess also that having to get it through a herp society or place like this, you will get less people who don't know how to look after it. The places that they encourage you to buy them from are much more likely to give you a care sheet than a pet shop.


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## peterjohnson64 (Feb 21, 2006)

Jeff, I am heartened to hear about the on-line stuff. Can I be so bold as to ask that your on-line resources be moved to keeping our fauna books online rather than on line applications. That way we dont need to submit each year (unless we want to) and transfers are updated constantly instead of annually. You will love reading my book in April. It smells, looks and tastes of red wine courtesy of "late night posts".


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## JeffHardy (Feb 21, 2006)

Oh, if only it were that simple, Peter. On-line fauna record submission has been suggested, discussed, review, discussed some more and rejected because of the mischief that some people get up to. Same old story, the few spoil it for the many.

I'd be happy to receive a review copy of your book


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## triptych_angel (Feb 22, 2006)

Hi, i live closer to Windsor, so how would i go about joinng the Herp Society. My friend has a Diamond Python but he is quite gnarly so havent handled him.


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## peterjohnson64 (Feb 22, 2006)

http://www.users.bigpond.com/josef_p/hhs/

click there. Join the club. meet wonderful people. There are lots of members here who live just minutes from you. Is your friend Sarah C????


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## triptych_angel (Feb 22, 2006)

No, my friend isnt on any of these thingy's.


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## peterjohnson64 (Feb 22, 2006)

OK, Sarah lives out your way and has Diamond Python.


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## zulu (Feb 22, 2006)

*re Corn*

Hi tryptych,go along to the Hawksbury herp society,meetings are every second friday of the month at 7 pm at richmond community hall,think thats right trip you can google a list of herp societys that would have contact numbers etc I see your post was taken over,PMSL :lol:


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