Where Can I Buy A Snake In Bangkok (as A Pet)?

[dscasler]

Hello, does anyone know where I can buy a snake in Bangkok as a pet (or turtles)? Are there any pet shops or markets where I can find reptiles? I went to the Chatachuk market but only saw dogs and cats.

[sorensen]

Hello, does anyone know where I can buy a snake in Bangkok as a pet (or turtles)? Are there any pet shops or markets where I can find reptiles? I went to the Chatachuk market but only saw dogs and cats.

Then you haven't been to the right area of JJ market. Plenty of reptiles and other exocit animals there, even small alligators. Try in the area behind Bangkok Bank where all the salt water aquariums are located.

[dscasler]

Thanks for the advice. No, I must have not been in the right part. I will try again.

[angiud]

It is not allowed to buy and/or export many endangered reptiles species. Chatuchak pet market is sometime raided by police for selling illegal animals.

Take your informations before and please try don't fuel the illegal animal market.

[dscasler]

I just noticed some WWF postings on the internet regarding that. I wouldn't support that kind of thing. I simply want a common snake as a pet so that my wife can get over her fear of snakes. Conquering fears is one of the best things we can do in life. And a common box turtle would make a great pet too. Or I could try to catch the huge monitor lizard living in back of my house in the swamp... (on second thought)

[surayu]

...I simply want a common snake as a pet...

My brother in law always seems to have a snake or two for his very own dinners during the week, the county seems to be full of them and sometime they seems to find their own way inside the houses without the need to be invited, make sure you find the right antidote before you let him in, hissing you a very good luck in your search

[bina]

i want to point out that keeping snakes as pets are difficult: feeding cleaning and disease prevention :

if your wife is thai, it wont make her get over her fear, it may make her divorce you.

seriously thought: the best pet snakes: varieties and hybrids of king snakes, corn snakes -- both kinds come in many colours and types and do not have any listings for them

HOWEVER

better to just accept the fact that most thai (fairly correctly also) fear snakes since , at least in the country, people do get bitten and die from snake bite by venoumous snakes, and altercations with adult pythons can not be fun either, even if bitten by a non venoumous snake, the bites can get nasty infections.

and lizards are even more difficult to keep if u dont have the proper conditions and the time and energy.

my husband will allow several types of animals to live in the house (including baby goats at one point in time) and will remove spiders and otehr creepy crawlies out of the house w/o killing them but he draws the line at snakes; refused to give in to my and my duaghters pleading to keep a beatiful king snake as a pet (we've had many as pets at my petting zoo, when the zoo closed i had to place my leopard gecko and my kings in other homes ( )

better to take her to a zoo or petting zoo that educates people in snakes and lizards: ecological/environmental etc.

bina

israel

[Goshawk]

I simply want a common snake as a pet so that my wife can get over her fear of snakes.

why not just take her to a zoo ? (or an irrational fears hypnotherapist)

[anothertorres]

I simply want a common snake as a pet so that my wife can get over her fear of snakes.

not to be rude and cause you to lose your face but... that's the dumbest idea i've heard all day. and i LIVE here!

[rucus7]

Hello, does anyone know where I can buy a snake in Bangkok as a pet (or turtles)? Are there any pet shops or markets where I can find reptiles? I went to the Chatachuk market but only saw dogs and cats.

Are you looking for poisonous or non-poisonous? both are available. Perhaps your wife's concerns are well founded. Most varieties bite.

[dscasler]

I never thought my post would bring such controversy. I had pet snakes as a kid and therefore have no fear of them. Many varieties are extremely gentle, docile creatures that would never harm anything (but maybe small mice). My wife has bad dreams about them and can't even look at one on TV (she's Chinese, not Thai). I'm certain that when she gets to know one, she'll realize there was nothing to be scared of. I had two water dragon lizards before. When she first saw them she was petrified, but a day or two later she was feeding them beetles with chopsticks. She liked them when she realized they wouldn't hurt her. Conquering fears is the best thing we can do in life.

[phetaroi]

I never thought my post would bring such controversy. I had pet snakes as a kid and therefore have no fear of them. Many varieties are extremely gentle, docile creatures that would never harm anything (but maybe small mice). My wife has bad dreams about them and can't even look at one on TV (she's Chinese, not Thai). I'm certain that when she gets to know one, she'll realize there was nothing to be scared of. I had two water dragon lizards before. When she first saw them she was petrified, but a day or two later she was feeding them beetles with chopsticks. She liked them when she realized they wouldn't hurt her. Conquering fears is the best thing we can do in life.

I have a fear of snakes that dates from a childhood encounter with a rattler. Nothing you could do would take away the fear. Period. It's only my opinion, but I think your idea is just plain dumb. I'll tell you right now, if my SO was so inconsiderate of my feelings as to bring a snake into this house, my SO would be gone.

[hiro]

I never thought my post would bring such controversy. I had pet snakes as a kid and therefore have no fear of them. Many varieties are extremely gentle, docile creatures that would never harm anything (but maybe small mice). My wife has bad dreams about them and can't even look at one on TV (she's Chinese, not Thai). I'm certain that when she gets to know one, she'll realize there was nothing to be scared of. I had two water dragon lizards before. When she first saw them she was petrified, but a day or two later she was feeding them beetles with chopsticks. She liked them when she realized they wouldn't hurt her. Conquering fears is the best thing we can do in life.

I have a fear of snakes that dates from a childhood encounter with a rattler. Nothing you could do would take away the fear. Period. It's only my opinion, but I think your idea is just plain dumb. I'll tell you right now, if my SO was so inconsiderate of my feelings as to bring a snake into this house, my SO would be gone.

you can have a Bamboo pit viper for FREE, it hangs in a Hibiscus plant about 3 meters away from where I am sitting now. Just need to pick it up yourself as I would not go near it. Sorry, not in Bangkok.

[bina]

if u have experience with keeping snakes thats another ball game. most people just dont realize how delicate snakes are to changes in environment, improper feeding regimes, cleaniness issues and handling. if your wife is only afraid and not phobic then maybe a nicely coloured king would do the job but i can say that my husband even after we played and handled snakes near him and demnstrated that they were the harmless and even rather phlegmatic types, refused to go near , feed, clean, or hold them. and a snakequarium in the house is a no no. our best friends have a snake living with them in their salon, he is about 10 yrs old now, a nice black striped king, anon refuses to go near it.

youre correct in that if its just a fear and ot a phobia, it can be overcome. ive done many sessions with people at the petting zoo using my snakes and leaopard gecko since in israel also a majority of people are afraid (we do have vipers all over, i mean, ALL OVER ) so as far as most people are concerned, a good snake is a new handbag... but for some, its just letting the snake be near them, when on my hands. a 'real' snake on the ground, well, thats an other story. many a 'coin/ring snake' met its death when people beat them to death thinking its the viper (look very similar unless u are close enough to id them).

bina

israel

[GarryP]

Corn snakes and ball pythons are very popular at the moment. The more colourful, the more expensive. Beautiful creatures. There are a number of specialist shops around BKK where they can be bought, including in JJ. The good thing about these two species is that they tend to be very docile. However, over handling can lead to stress and infection. Handling should be kept to a bare minimum. The corn snakes are more hardy than the pythons.

[NextStationBangkok]

You can buy Baht.10-20 rubber made snakes and hide below bed or keep in bathroom to make your wife brave. You can buy them in Kaosan Road.

It is illegal to keep real snakes at home, probably you will end up in jail !!!

[Okidoki]

Of course you should get a snake as pet. People doesn´t realize what an extremely huge market that is even in financial terms. Look at www.kingsnake.co.uk or .com where you will find alot of information, prices, breeders, etc. Thanks to the HUGE amount of breeders all over the world, most of all wildcaught sales has disappeared. Why buy a wildcaught (if not for new bloodlines) with all the problems that involved (parasites, inflamations, stress, etc.) when you can buy animals that are adopted to be in captivity?

Generally speaking, snakes are very easy to keep. But of course some of them needs special care. The same goes with lizards. Read on the forums, join a herp society and you will be find.

I have supported psychologists who works with phobic patients and so far every patient has found them interesting after a while. Been handling reptiles for close to 40 years as a hobby and professional. No big deal.

Snakes are no different then aquarium fishes. When you buy it, you have a responsibility for the animal and the wellfare even for the ones around you. Reptiles are very fascinating animals!

[Arkady]

As far as I know, posters who say it's illegal to keep species regarded as wild animals, including all snakes, as pets in Thailand are correct. A few years ago a not very bright bar owner in Hua Hin kept some pythons in a glass cage in the bar. He put some rabbits and birds in the cage and it was a horrible to sight to them waiting in terror for the pythons to wake up hungry and eat them. Fortunately this revolting spectacle was put to an end by Hua Hin's finest who eventually came along and arrested the owner and took away the pythons which presumably slithered into the police cooking pot.

[bina]

arkady do u have the regs for this in thai or english??/ thats an interseting point if its true. as far as i know, poisonous snakes are illegal as pets but other types arent , in my country so i would ASSume that other countries use the same reqs, but i should never -- u know what -- .... cause ive been known to be wrong. its rare, but it happens.

just found out the heartbreaking news that my giant land tortoises (all males, all about 17 yrs old, all born on my kibbutz in the old petting zoo from one set of parents, back when they were a rare site...) died this past year, due too, as far as i can see, lack of decent care. i left the petting zoo two years ago as of last week, and since then, it has a had a string of caretakers, and the animal population has dwindled. this year they were fined, so came to me this week for some help. i did the list of wild species were were allowed to keep and when i came to the reptiles list, i was told that they had died. three years ago we had built a special 'turtle' house with thermostats, ambient heat and spot heat, feeding area, burrowing caves (barrels on their sides), and had found some females that were looking for males once they reached sexual maturity (by size, not by age)...

total disregard for their dietary needs (overfeeding high sugar and starch foods, low on fiber, casuses slow death) and temp. needs led to pneuomia and parasite infections, which lead to other things, they died from poor care.

snakes, turtles etal ARE NOT easy to care for. they are easier then horses or elephants because they are small. but they have specific needs for heat/cold, diet, and cleaning. if these are not adhered to, u end up with a snake / turtle that dies over a long period of time. stress in a reptile can kill it over a period of months, not days.

btw, ball pythons are known anorexics. i.e. they have eating issues. i stick to my guns: kings/corn/ and those types are my personal recommendation if u must own a snake. the larger constrictors have , in the long run, housing and feeding problems (can u supply a rabbit a week in warm weather?) and personality issues -- with age, they get 'testier'.

bina

israel

[phetaroi]

(can u supply a rabbit a week in warm weather?)

And just how can someone who cares about the welfare of animals kill a "rabbit a week"?

[bergen]

I simply want a common snake as a pet so that my wife can get over her fear of snakes.

not to be rude and cause you to lose your face but... that's the dumbest idea i've heard all day. and i LIVE here!

Agree..............and I live here too!

[bina]

the same way . i eat meat. a snake needs to eat. it eats rodents. large snakes eat large rodents. that includes rabbits. most snakes wont eat dead frozen 'ratsicles' or 'mousicles' that have to be defrosted and warmed up in water first. some snakes learn, but most refuse to eat. the other method is for the owner to stun the animal and then place in snake cage in hopes that snake will eat it but from personal experience its horrible to stun an animal cause u cause injury and fear. a snake just quickly grabs the animal, and within a few minutes the animal is stunned, incapacitated, stops breathing and thats that...

thats life in the animal world. leaving a live animal (prey) in a snake's cage is bad managment anyhow. most rodents will climb on the snake, bite it ccausing wounds that get infected, and dirtying the cage. if your snake is hungy u will know it, than u place the prey in the cage, if the snake wont grab it right away or within a short period of time, u remove the prey back to its cage with food and water. no one says u have to torture your live meal. just like i eat my male baby goats . they are taken care of until slaughter time, not kept as 'fattened' livestock, and its doen quickly. not for fun. but i am a carnivore and farmer too. i dont believe in killing the animal for fun, nor for causing a small prey animal to fear for the fun of it while feeding the snake either.

but thats my personal philosophy. there is of now still no things such as 'snake chow' science diet and such...

bina

israel

[mogoso]

[quote name='bina' date='2009-

thats life in the animal world. leaving a live animal (prey) in a snake's cage is bad managment anyhow. most rodents will climb on the snake, bite it ccausing wounds that get infected, and dirtying the cage. if your snake is hungy u will know it, than u place the prey in the cage, if the snake wont grab it right away or within a short period of time, u remove the prey back to its cage with food and water. no one says u have to torture your live meal. just like i eat my male baby goats . they are taken care of until slaughter time, not kept as 'fattened' livestock, and its doen quickly. not for fun. but i am a carnivore and farmer too. i dont believe in killing the animal for fun, nor for causing a small prey animal to fear for the fun of it while feeding the snake either.

but thats my personal philosophy. there is of now still no things such as 'snake chow' science diet and such...

bina

israel

My Kingsnake (eastern king) for a reptile is a gentle intelligent creature who wants a daily handling. He enjoys trying to pull my hands together. His spinal bones crack like popcorn during this stretching , after his daily walk on the lawn. Walk him daily and there's never a mess in the aquarium to clean. I didn't know you could potty train a snake. He enjoys interaction with people for a short period of time, except for small children, before he gets antsy and wants to come back to me.

My Thai wife has overcome her fears of this particular snake and will catch him and move him. away from the bushes along the lake if I have to go inside during his walk. He is completely nonagressive except towards mice whose lives are generally ended quickly after encountering him. As I caught him as a baby 4 1/2 years past and he grew up eating at first frozen mice, as pinkies and fuzzies are only sold frozen. I prefer to feed him live now , but if he's going into a shed cycle and won't eat, I freeze the mice and feed them to him two weeks later.

Snake is curious and when I forget I have him outside ,as I tend to occasionally talk with the neighbors, I find him a few days later in the garden or lawn and bring him back in.

Other than the walks (no I don't use a leash so forget that imagery, call it a walkabout, cept he crawls) 7 months outta the year, he is no hassle whatsoever. Other 5 months are hybernation period no food only water and thats absolutely no hassle.

[bina]

yep. thats king snakes. we had a pair for seven years. the female was a bit tempormental for a snake for the male was really placid. you know btw not to handle snakes after kill, they vomit the kill back up and there is nothing worse then snake vomit. yech.....

i think in thailand it isnt cold enough to allow the hibernation (estivation actually) to go in to full swing. here, our winters are cold enough that we could leave them in seperate tanks, in a non heated room until april... thye both died btw when we started the heating up process by exposing them little by little to the warmer weather outside. someone (my duaghter and an other worker) left teh tanks in direct sunlight and went to lunch. when they came back, we had boiled snakes....

every year before that we succeeded in having them breed, lay eggs, etc...

we never let them crawl on the ground as were advised against that by many zoo snake handlers taht is a good way for a captive and not wild native snake to get parasites and other bacterial and viral diseases. and snakes always poo just after u clean their tanks. its a rule ))

yes, 'road' my friend's king disappeared one year in the house. thinking that maybe he went to the fridge (snakes like the back of fridges its warm there and then they get tangled up in wires and things) they serached and searched. only a few months later when doing a thoroush cleaning of the house they found ihim in a vase , non the worse for wear if a bit hungry ,

bina

israel

(ratsicles -frozen rats, like popsicles....

[dscasler]

That's unreal. I may have to get a kingsnake (or a breeding pair). I really only plan to keep the snake until my wife is over her fear, then I will free it. I would like to get a box turtle though. They eat vegetables and I can bring it to school and show my students. I think a snake may invoke visits from parents. The truth is I'd love a golden retreiver but we move around too much and it wouldn't be fair to the dog. So reptiles are the next best thing.

[reallyok]

Hello, does anyone know where I can buy a snake in Bangkok as a pet (or turtles)? Are there any pet shops or markets where I can find reptiles? I went to the Chatachuk market but only saw dogs and cats.

Have you tried your local "Ladyboy bar"

[GarryP]

Was at JJ this weekend and saw a wide variety of snakes. The prices were wicked though, ranging from Baht 6k to 28k for ball pythons and corn snakes. However, one shop was selling green whip snakes for the low hundreds. You need to go to the area between the main JJ market and JJ Plaza. Most of the reptiles are located there.

It seems that they are importing mammals now. Skunks and groundhogs were on sale as well as the usual suspects.

[Okidoki]

arkady do u have the regs for this in thai or english??/ thats an interseting point if its true. as far as i know, poisonous snakes are illegal as pets but other types arent , in my country so i would ASSume that other countries use the same reqs, but i should never -- u know what -- .... cause ive been known to be wrong. its rare, but it happens.

just found out the heartbreaking news that my giant land tortoises (all males, all about 17 yrs old, all born on my kibbutz in the old petting zoo from one set of parents, back when they were a rare site...) died this past year, due too, as far as i can see, lack of decent care. i left the petting zoo two years ago as of last week, and since then, it has a had a string of caretakers, and the animal population has dwindled. this year they were fined, so came to me this week for some help. i did the list of wild species were were allowed to keep and when i came to the reptiles list, i was told that they had died. three years ago we had built a special 'turtle' house with thermostats, ambient heat and spot heat, feeding area, burrowing caves (barrels on their sides), and had found some females that were looking for males once they reached sexual maturity (by size, not by age)...

total disregard for their dietary needs (overfeeding high sugar and starch foods, low on fiber, casuses slow death) and temp. needs led to pneuomia and parasite infections, which lead to other things, they died from poor care.

snakes, turtles etal ARE NOT easy to care for. they are easier then horses or elephants because they are small. but they have specific needs for heat/cold, diet, and cleaning. if these are not adhered to, u end up with a snake / turtle that dies over a long period of time. stress in a reptile can kill it over a period of months, not days.

btw, ball pythons are known anorexics. i.e. they have eating issues. i stick to my guns: kings/corn/ and those types are my personal recommendation if u must own a snake. the larger constrictors have , in the long run, housing and feeding problems (can u supply a rabbit a week in warm weather?) and personality issues -- with age, they get 'testier'.

bina

israel

Bina, it is sad that you state that snakes are hard to keep in captivity. I have followed your various statements in different threads and I think I understand where you come from and how you have received your knowledge. The way you talk about keeping reptiles was about 20 years ago. If you claim you are a professional former zookeeper (Hopefully involved in EAZA or any other professional zoo organisation) it surprises me that you in Israel keep animals as they do in Thailand, as you describe it.

Today, the reptile pet industry is a huge, huge industry. There are so many skilled breeders today that breeds species no one never thought was possible. And their skills and success has actually drained the suppliers of wildcaught animals. Why should you buy something that will cause you alot of work and most likely problems? I have breeded THOUSANDS of snakes and reps and of course I have had some problems. But not as a general rule, as you state in your various comments.

As you hopefully are, or at least should be, aware of, you deparazite and deworm all your animals, take fecal examinations to investigate if the animals are bearer of any bacteries or parasites. Bring in new blood depending on what you want to achieve. All serious breeders and zoo´s does that. And of course you keep the animals in a way not to be exposed by new bacteria or parasites and handle all the hygien factors in the same way. Alcohol or antibacterial soap on your hands, etc. Otherwise you transfer the bacteria, virus and can create an unbalance in the animal where stress might cause the outburst of an infection.

Today, since the last 10 years or so, most repkeepers feed their animals with frozen food. Mice, rats, chicken, guineapigs, all frozen at least 30 days to avoid to transfer any parasites. To feed live food to your animals just endangers them and risc your investment. If you pay 10-15 000 USD (some ballpythons) or 1 MUSD for a snake (An albino Reticulated Python about 10 yrs ago), why should you risc it? I know people who has collections of reptiles worth close to a million USD.

It is true, that Ballpythons had a reputation of being hard to keep alive. 10-15 years ago... Today, it is a very common breeded snake of which you easily can get expertise from many, many breeders. Very easy to keep but buy a breeded in captivity one. However, a ballpython is not a large constrictor. If you talk about large ones, Tigers, rets, rocks and amethysts are large ones and the only problem they have, are if they are overfeed. As with all snakes, humans or birds or... I myself have breeded all of them, except the rocks. Have had them for years without any problems. You also refer to personality issues due to age....? That is a new one. If you keep and handle snakes, you will be bitten. Sure, Kings and Corns are nice ones. You don´t mention the problems with Kings for eksample that they sometimes eat the other snakes. And Kings, what specie do you have any experience from? Or subspecie? They differ.

About hibernation. You don´t hibernate tropical snakes as you do with North American, Canadian, European, ME or North african snakes. You increase the humidity and have small variations in the temperature. Increase the food, etc. To hibernate snakes in warm climate or anywhere, most people use refrigerators where you can control the temperature. When you hibernate, it is quite common that they breed. Which is the basics of why you hibernate them.

The same goes for Turtles, Crocs, Lizards, etc. These animals are breeded all over the world today.

Please refrain from comments which is more based on your own so called experiences or "rumours". Check your facts but don´t a guy who wants support, how to act out of your own personal opinion. As a zoo person, you should know that. And you are also a moderator. Not any lawman. People have kept pets since long before Christ, so what is the problem?

The guy asked where to get a snake to keep as a pet. Why shouldn´t he? Give him advice, support him but do that out of facts. Direct him where he can get information.

Snakes are generally speaking VERY EASY to keep. Just get information on how to keep that specific specie first and remind of the responsibility he has by keeping an animal. For the animal itself and for the people around him.

Good luck!

PS. It is called a Terrarium for reptiles. Not aquarium....

PS2. There are no specific law in Thailand of how to keep snakes. It varies between countries. Most of countries in the world also follows the CITES regulations which... have impact on the airlines to take them as cargo f eks. Some countries or states demands that you have a licence, other doesn´t.

[phetaroi]

...The way you talk about keeping reptiles was about 20 years ago....

...Please refrain from comments which is more based on your own so called experiences or "rumours". Check your facts but don´t a guy who wants support, how to act out of your own personal opinion. As a zoo person, you should know that. And you are also a moderator. Not any lawman. People have kept pets since long before Christ, so what is the problem?...

...PS. It is called a Terrarium for reptiles. Not aquarium....

I have to stick up for Bina on this one. I should say in advance that I hate snakes, but I also feel sorry for most "pet" snakes because they are kept in AQUARIUMS (yes, we all know they are called terrariums if they are land-based, but the companies that manufacture what most "pet" snakes live in manufacture the enclosures as aquariums). And, most "pet" snake owners are not any more modern than such collectors were 20 years ago. When I have visited snake collectors, there are the animals just laying in an aquarium, usually 24/7. Or, do you take them out and walk them? Let them slither freely around your bedroom?

This is a discussion forum. It's a place to discuss opinions about various topics. If all you want are pure facts, you can eliminate about 95% of the posts on this or any other forum. People read the various opinions and then make their own decisions based on what they have read. It's not an encyclopedia, it's a conversation on the internet. Bina has stated her opinions -- not all of which I agree with over time -- but she has not, even as a moderator, acted like the forum "lawman", as you put it.

Finally, you said, "People have kept pets since long before Christ, so what is the problem?" Poor logic. There has been human slavery since long before Christ. Murder. The plague. Famine. Shall I go on? So, what's the problem with those delightful human sufferings?

BTW, before you start in on me...as I am quite sure you will...I am a pet owner (parrots). But they don't sit in an aquarium 24/7, they are flighted every day (although in the house) and are out of their large cages at least half of every day. My point -- I have some experience with what some people would refer to as exotic pets.

[bina]

to okidoki

of course dedicated snake keepers follow all rules and keep their pets stress free and on the best diets; however, here in israel, snakes are still considered a 'manly' (macho) pet and a large amount of snake pet owners havent a clue; therefore when the animal starts getting ill, doesnt eat, or the guy's girlfriend/mother/wife gives birth/cant stand the animal/threatens to m ove out, the snake gets foisted off on an other unsuspecting owner AND /OR RELEASED TO THE WILD IN WHICH IT CANNOT/SOMETIME CAN SURVIVE. various types of non native snakes were released in the north here, due to a very professional but very very wierd (and many years ago, murdered by an other snake person) guy who slept with his snakes along with his girlfriend, but definately had a screw loose. i met him at animal shows, very vevy wierd...some of the released snakes being among others: Vipera ammodytes, causing an uproar among the society for the protection of nature. the released snakes were since caught although rumour has it there there are still several of his snakes living in the wild, alghough they are unable to reproduce, they can manage to survive. tried to find his story in english but its a no-go.

yes, here is still 20 years ago as we are always behind about 10 + years in pet keeping. dog grooming has only know become a professional and highly demanded profession; training by click methods for dogs has only come around recently and agility is still in diapers; yes the jerusalem zoo is a professional zoo, with highly trained and well managed staff and they know the limitations of their clients as well...

we (those of us involved with petting zoos/zoos/vets) still prefer to advise against keeping snakes as pets (btw, a majority of snake as pet keepers here are under 18 or pre army guys that end up leaving their pets to the care of mothers/girlfriends when they go to the army. the snake is then left on its own, or sold off to the next kid. the same happens for the large parrots, amazons, macaws et al. as these are 'status' birds here, and for that matter, also happens to the 'rotties/staffies/' and other 'macho' type dogs.

people here keep pets w/o having the financial wherewithal for proper care. a vet that is trained in snakes is a rare thing, i know of one in jerusalem, an american religious woman (strange in and of itself as the jewish orthodox dont go for this stuff usually) and her prices (and attitude at that) are very high. most people selling pythons and other constrictors here keep them until they run out of room and cant afford a larger terrarium (yes i know th proper terms but too lazy to remember spelling etc).

iguanas are often released when they reach maturity and start whipping their tails or die from bone problems (only get fed lettuce).

my five giant tortoises are an example of what happens when a dedicated person leaves a position and the remainng people dont follow instructions. five dead tortoises from pneuomonia. with a well built turtle house, heating, proper diet... just nobody really thought that all that work was necessary for animals that seem to eat anything and are '...easy to care for' so u can just leave them to their own...

yes, kings have eaten other of our lizards when a child (we were a learning petting zoo on the kibbutz as well as open to the public) mistakenly put a smaller snake or lizard in the wrong terrarium...

and yes, even here there are several breeders that have amazing hybrids, colours, and types for sale... but most city pet stores have a sad specimem in a small tank, and will sell it to anyone that can pay, regardless if the snake is sick , or if the person hasnt a clue. and ratsicles and miceicles are expensive and sometimes there are no pinkies/mice for sale among all the stores and most regualr owners will not 'grow their own...'. the good breeders are located far from city centers and i know for a fact that several, while they are on the up and up, do do business with rogues i.e. there are some snake collectors that (hae since been arrested and shut down) were active in snake smuggling from thailand among other countries. these are people that i have personally met. and they did not keep their animals in the best of set ups. the goal was to foist off animals (often claiming the snake/bird/whaever was a different species than it actually was) on people willing to shell out a lot of shekels for a 'image making' pet. sad but true.

i suspect we are closer to thailand in all respects when it comes to pet ownership.

here is not america. i know. people here still abandon old horses and donkeys when the vet bills start adding up. its cheaper to turn a horse out on a neighboring moshav (country village) then pay for a vet to do the teeth, and provide softer food, and exercise, and cheaper then euthenasia. i should know. for seven years we also rescued abandoned and abused donkeys.

not sure how it is in the states or anywhere else. just here. therefore i still do my best to advise against keeping 'exotics' unless u have the time, money, know how and patience. the same btw, i say to dog/cat/large animal owners.

i am not claiming there is a law against keeping snakes. someone else mentioned that and i for one would like to see that in writing if there is such a thing. in israel there is a law that venomous snakes may not be kept by private owners nor by educational petting zoos (such as ours was).

well, i ve had my say...

owning a pet is serious business, thats all, and it doesnt matter if its a tarantula a snail or a st. bernard.

bina

israel

oh, btw, we are still , til this day, told that the larger constrictors become more aggressive with age/maturity and proper safety measures should be taken when working with them at that size and age.

and most people here wont refirgerate their snakes or they would be on the steps of the rabbinate courts for divorce based on keeping a non kosher animal in the fridge... the closest we can get is to put the kings in an outdoor area or garage or laundry room although in the coastal areas it just doesnt get cold enough...

our kings were :(Lampropeltis getula californiae) among others. i liked them. they bred well, were easy to use with children, hardy.