Pet Pics

"Autumn"-Irian Jaya Carpet Python



"Carl"-Bull Snake



"Jake"-Ball Python



"Cinnamon"-Ball Python



"Carla"-Albino California King Snake



"Sunset"-Normal Corn Snake



"Mandi"-Anerythristic Striped Corn Snake

The Argument

In recent times, the hobby of snake keeping has become a hotly debated issue. With the sensationalization by the media of stories of people being killed by their “pet python”, and the fact that these same species have been released/escaped into the wild and are wreaking havoc on the local flora and fauna (particularly in south Florida), many special interest groups are advocating the ban of snake keeping as a whole. I’m creating this blog as a forum to respectfully debate this issue. For my experience in the hobby, see the “about me” section on my profile. I will use the rest of this post to get the ball rolling on the debate. I’ll start off with a brief orientation for the un-initiated.

Of the various known families of snakes, there are two of these that are most commonly kept as pets: Boidae and Colubridae.

The Boidae family includes the Boas and Pythons*. These range in size from certain species of sand boas that reach a maximum length of only a few inches, to the giant Boids that reach lengths in excess of and may exceed twenty feet. These include four members of the sub-family Pythonidae (Burmese Python, Reticulated Python, African Rock Python, Scrub Python) and one member of the sub-family Boinae (Green Anaconda).

The Colubridae family includes the non-venomous, garden variety “yard snakes” such as King Snakes, Corn Snakes, Garter Snakes, etc**. These range in size from the collared reed snake at only a few inches to members of the genae Drymarchon (Indigo Snake, Cribos) and Pituophis (Bull snake, Gopher snake, Pine snake) which can reach eight to ten feet in length (though not built on nearly as heavy lines as their Boid counterparts).

The controversy centers around the above mentioned “giant boids”, which can be arguably more dangerous than even many species of venomous snakes. The problem is that many of the aforementioned special interest groups wish to abolish the hobby of snake keeping altogether based on the reports of incidents concerning these large snakes. It’s my opinion that the average hobbyist has no business keeping these giant species. There are many of my friends in the hobby who disagree with me. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the giants. They’re beautiful creatures. In fact, the first snake I ever held was a large Burmese. But these snakes should only be kept by those who have the experience and resources to handle and house them properly. I wouldn’t advocate banning them, but prospective owners should be licensed, as is currently required in Florida. We’re already seeing legislation being debated on the Federal level that would ban the keeping of smaller Boid species such as Columbian Boas and Carpet Pythons. If we don’t regulate ourselves, the government might eventually step in and say we can’t even keep a Corn Snake or a Ball Python. We must take steps to protect our hobby.

Your thoughts?

*A note for those familiar with snake Taxonomy. In this discussion, I used the “traditional” classification concerning the family Boidae. I am aware of the debate that has taken place over the last few years among Herpetologists that Boas and Pythons should be split into separate families, Boidae and Pythonidae. I used the traditional classification because I have not yet heard confirmation that this matter has been resolved. I would more than welcome a thread debating this issue.

**I’m also aware that family Colubridae also includes a handful of relatively mildly venomous species, from the extremely mildly toxic Hog-nose Snake to the somewhat more toxic Boomslang (though still much less toxic than members of the family Viperdae: true Vipers and Rattlesnakes, and Elapidae: Cobras, Mambas, Coral Snakes, etc.). For the purposes of this discussion, I wanted to keep this limited to the commonly kept pets (I know, Hog-nose Snakes make excellent pets).

This is me and my brother holding "Cleopatra", a Burmese Python. This is the first snake I ever held. I was 11. Beautiful creatures, but I'd never own one.