siegelreptiles
Contributor
Heres the ultimate kicker----with the new roc permit requirement-(reptile of concern) as a pet shop owner, I cannot even take a burmese python for FREE from a person off the street unless they have a roc permit, which practically no one has. That means if someone decides--hey--I no longer want this 10ft burmese python that I have---I want to give it to the local pet shop---I CANNOT EVEN ACCEPT IT!--guess what--thats the person that going to go release an animal into the wild because they have no other option. Prior to this--we would get free burms of all types turned in all the time. Literally several times a month. We would take them and sell them, normally to breeders and collectors up north, but now when someone calls and says"hey--I have this burmese python I want to give away to your store" I have to turn them away legally. I have had 2 people drop burmese pythons off at my store in bags on my front doorstep. If anything this new roc regulations is making it harder for pet owners to get rid of their pets in a safe manner. They have an amnesty day, but that is every few months and not well advertised. The whole thing is a mess.
In essence the roc permit has done what it has set out to do, which is stop the sale of reptile of concern animals in florida---it costs $100 per year for the permit and most people dont want to go through the application and inspection. We carry a roc permit only because we still sell roc animals out of state, but since the new requirements, I have sold one roc animal in florida to a permit holder. So mission accomplished!! As far as roc requirements helping the spread of invasives--wont do a thing either way except quell the fears of people who do not know enough about the problem to understand.
Here is another interesting fact to chew on. The most popular morph of the burmese python is the albino. It is widely available for the last 15 years or so and far more produced in captivity than its normal counterpart. If the burmese in the glades came from careless pet owners releasing their animals, why has there never been one single albino caught from the glades population of snakes? One has never been seen, never been caught, not one single specimen. I have heard of a few caught in town sporadically, but these have all been escaped pets, and never has a viable breeding population burmese ever been found close to town.
The media loves scary snake stories almost as much as they love hurricanes. Unfortunately there is very little fact when they report the news. Being south floridians we should know this.
In essence the roc permit has done what it has set out to do, which is stop the sale of reptile of concern animals in florida---it costs $100 per year for the permit and most people dont want to go through the application and inspection. We carry a roc permit only because we still sell roc animals out of state, but since the new requirements, I have sold one roc animal in florida to a permit holder. So mission accomplished!! As far as roc requirements helping the spread of invasives--wont do a thing either way except quell the fears of people who do not know enough about the problem to understand.
Here is another interesting fact to chew on. The most popular morph of the burmese python is the albino. It is widely available for the last 15 years or so and far more produced in captivity than its normal counterpart. If the burmese in the glades came from careless pet owners releasing their animals, why has there never been one single albino caught from the glades population of snakes? One has never been seen, never been caught, not one single specimen. I have heard of a few caught in town sporadically, but these have all been escaped pets, and never has a viable breeding population burmese ever been found close to town.
The media loves scary snake stories almost as much as they love hurricanes. Unfortunately there is very little fact when they report the news. Being south floridians we should know this.
