Your exotic experience

[Umbral]

A mate of mines cousin suicided and my mate offered me his collection and showed me pics on his phone of what there was... Mainly boas and corns, I convinced my mate to turn them in.

 

[stusnake]

Captive exotics are nothing new in Australia as Im sure many of us would be aware. There are reports of established wild populations of red eared pond sliders in southern QLD, and have been found in ponds in centenial park in Sydney over the years. Back in early 2000 I was aware of at least 2 pet stores in Sydney that were selling red eared pond sliders and corn snakes. Only a couple of months ago there were ball pythons advertised for sale on reptiles down under, and have seen adds for other exotics on other classified sites such as gumtree, trading post, etc over the years also. Have had a member of FAWNA bring in a corn snake that was captured in a back yard in Port Macquarie for formal identification a few years back. Over the years have been offered ( but always refused despite the temptation) exotics such as corn snakes, red tail boas, chamelions and sliders.
Exotics in aus arent an urban myth. they are very much here, as to whether they are impacting our environment and harming native species is yet to be seen but the potential is always there.

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One thing I have noticed is that a few of the people I have spoken to in the past you have or had have exotics have no idea of the illegality of possessing them likewise licencing laws for natives. For herp enthusiasts many of us are aware of licencing laws or at least have some basic idea. There needs to be a way to better inform people of the owner criteria for reptiles and other animals native and exotic alike. Most people are aware that the general basics of owning a dog is registration and microchipping, and i guess this is due to it being regularly seen and heard in the public domain. Maybe this is something that could be of an advantage in the herp circle, getting more knowledge out into the public domain somehow, maybe more info/education through petshops/supplies, vets, councils, etc. Possibly another topic of agenda to through into the mix with the National body.

 

[butters]

I can tell you with certainty that there are a lot of exotics out there , mainly kept by non-herp enthusiasts. I have been involved with quite a few cases of wild Corn snakes appearing in suburban backyards. Maybe they don`t pose a threat to the environment but why take the chance. I seem to recall they said the same thing about rabbits and cane toads. By the way , anyone who releases exotic reptiles into the wild rather than lose them is not only a moron but also criminally negligent. Attitudes like that endanger the environment. Grow a brain !!

How can you compare cane toads and rabbits to exotic captive reptiles? The only real correlation is they are all exotic. Where did you hear that there was never a thought that they would become a problem? When those species were introduced it wasn't considered a problem if they did have an environmental impact particularly with regards to rabbits. We should have learnt a lesson on that one.

cane toads and rabbits introductions were sanctioned and carried out by mostly government institutions and a lot of effort was put into establishing them. We are not talking the odd escapee from hobbyists here but concerted efforts to establish them in the wild.

what makes you think they are not kept by herp enthusiasts? I would have thought they were actually kept by herp enthusiasts. Why else would someone amass a collections of exotic reptiles if they didn't like reptiles? Doesn't make sense unless it was just to make money and there are plenty of people in the native reptile,game there for the same reason. The only difference between the two is the legality of it. Central beardies on the eastern seaboard present the same if not larger threat to eastern beardies as a corn snake in the long run.


I agree with the sentiment about releasing exotics into the wild but as stated there are far larger threats to the environment than exotic reptiles held in collections. The majority of feral species in Australia were imported and introduced intentionally for one reason or another either by the government at the time or their sanctioned agencies (eg acclimation society).

I don't keep exotics purely because of the legality of it but have been offered them numerous times over the years. By far the majority have been offered from Victoria and New South Wales. IME 20 years ago Victoria used the be the main place to get them but in recent years it appears to have moved to NSW.

 

[andynic07]

Victoria is famous for the VENOMOUS exotic reptile bust of the 7th of March 2001. This seizure of snakes prompted Peter Mirtschin of Venom Supplies to host a conference to discuss the matter in October of 2001. The list of confiscated exotic vens was impressive.

I have heard some of these stories.

 

[BigWillieStyles]

I dont think there is any argument, they should never be kept in Australia. Our native fauna is already facing severed extinction rates due to land pressures and changes in their environment. The risk may be small, but the potential impact would be massive.

Not to mention the moral issues relating to animal welfare. By purchasing illegal animals, you are supporting a process that has involved a complete disregard for animal welfare. People who bring animals from overseas are essentially doing it to make money, and considerations for cruelty are not even taken into account.

There have been various risk assessments completed on the accidental introduction of reptiles to Australia. Most giving a 30 percent chance of an animal being able to establish itself in the wild. For many of our native fauna such as our fragile mammals, an additional predator to the system would be the final step in their extinction.

A few weeks ago, Victorian land managers got a scare with the Black spined Toad being found by a dog in Sunbury. This species is similar to the cane toad but can live in much more temperate climates and can produce as many as 40,000 eggs with no natural predators in Australia.

 

[MathersD]

Boas and corns are stunners all the same .

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk

 

[eipper]

To the doubters as to quantities..... I don't see grams of marijuana up for sale on many internet sites but i am sure people sell it.

 

[moosenoose]

I've got a few people I know who keep Boas on International licenses. I've seen corns & other odd things in peoples collections from time to time. Not worth the hassle from my perspective, but I can understand that when these things pop up & should be euthanized why a reptile lover has a bit of a change of heart. Corns don't last long down here in a Victorian winter anyway if they've gotten out....or definitely don't last long because of feral or unrestrained domestic cats.

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I was playing with this at the Melbourne Zoo. Who wouldn't want one? :lol:

 

[Snowman]

Highly sort after exotics in WA would be:
GTP
Diamond pythons
Jungle's
Bredli's
Darwins
Collett's
Tai's
etc etc

 

[champagne]

Highly sort after exotics in WA would be:
GTP
Diamond pythons
Jungle's
Bredli's
Darwins
Collett's
Tai's
etc etc

Now that darwins are on WA keep list, Albino Darwins are on their way but of course they will pop up from a collected wild caught pair lol.

 

[Snowman]

Now that darwins are on WA keep list, Albino Darwins are on their way but of course they will pop up from a collected wild caught pair lol.

Darwin's are increadably uncommon in the Kimberley. To the point none have been wild collected that I know of and even photos are of wild specimens are rare. They weren't recorded in Wa until the 80's or something.

 

[champagne]

Darwin's are increadably uncommon in the Kimberley. To the point none have been wild collected that I know of and even photos are of wild specimens are rare. They weren't recorded in Wa until the 80's or something.

dave is taking orders $1000 a pair for w/c pairs

 

[Snowman]

dave is taking orders $1000 a pair for w/c pairs

Are you sure? I think he's collected bts, Pygmy, waters. But no Darwin's or RSP yet. @PilbaraPythons are you getting nwcp?

 

[champagne]

no I don't think he has collected yet but is defiantly taking names for when he does.

 

[Snowman]

$1000 a pair sounds ridiculously cheap!

 

[champagne]

$1000 a pair sounds ridiculously cheap!

that's defiantly what he said I am chasing a pair of pure WA darwins.

 

[Snowman]

that's defiantly what he said I am chasing a pair of pure WA darwins.

You are aware that there is an export ban on the new additions to the WA keepers list?
darwins, waters, pygmys etc can not be sent to other states.

 

[champagne]

You are aware that there is an export ban on the new additions to the WA keepers list?
darwins, waters, pygmys etc can not be sent to other states.

really? that's bull.. what is there reasoning behind that?

 

[Snowman]

really? that's bull.. what is there reasoning behind that?

Less wild taking I guess. They're going to review it again in 5 years time.

 

[champagne]

Less wild taking I guess. They're going to review it again in 5 years time.

I couldn't see a huge demand for them on the eastern states. How many people would spend $$$ on a species that we already have in the eastern states. Only a few people would be interested in forking out the money to keep them, not many sw carpets being kept over here for example.