KCW from Northern California

[kingcaliwolf]

Greetings all! I am very happy to have found this community! I am just getting back into the hobby and so far I have a trio of Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus doing beautifully!

[Thamnophis]

Hi Kingcaliwolf, welcome here.

Nice species you have. You say you are getting back in the hobby. What species did you keep before?

[Cazador]

Hi KCW,
Welcome to the new thamnophis.com. I keep concinnus myself. They're a great subspecies... beautiful, active, friendly, and easy to feed. The next species I hope to acquire is the California red-sided garter snake (T.s. infernalis), but they're hard to come by. I'm even considering a trip to Northern California next spring to do some herping if I don't manage to find some online. Where did you find your concinnus? Take care,
Rick

[kingcaliwolf]

Hello Rick!

I got my concinnus from Brian Eager in Salt Lake City Utah. They are doing great, very tame, feeding voraciously. Really beautiful snakes. I plan to start a gallery soon.

I am just getting back into Herpetoculture and havent researched the local laws yet. I would offer to send you some infernalis but I don't think it is legal! I don't even know if were allowed to ccollect them, (I heard with a fishing license you can take 4) Anybody know of a website that covers Herp Law issues? Can I send infernalis to Alaska? Can Europe send snakes here?

KCW

[kingcaliwolf]

Hello Thamnophis,
I was heavily into it many years ago. Had just about everything except King Cobras. Biggest ever was a Retic back in 1980 about 20 feet. Big Burmese, etc, etc, also Rattlesnakes were a favorite then. Diamondbacks to Sidewinders. But I always respected the ways of the Natricine snakes. Thamnophis was always a favorite. So now I hope to establish and maintain a few species, hopefully producing offspring for sale and trade.

[Cazador]

Hi KCW,
What an offer! I've been searching the internet like crazy, and you're willing to send a few up here, if it's legal. You'd have to call the California Department of Fish and Game to be certain of the laws, but they could tell you if you can collect them within a few minutes.

This is unofficial but what I've heard:
It's not legal for a Californian to sell wild-caught Californian reptiles, nor can someone sell a captive-bred Californian reptile to a Californian. I'm not sure if I could re-imburse you for your real expenses (postage, gas, etc.), but California Fish and Game could verify it. I've also heard that with a fishing licence, a Californian is allowed to collect a small number of reptiles. I think the number is between 3 & 5. Drop me an e-mail, and we can exchange info and work out details (asrrb2@uaa.alaska.edu). In the mean time, I'll e-mail California Dept of Fish and Game for details. Maybe we can barter or just exchange gifts between friends (if that's legal). Alaska has a lot to offer ;-).

Great to hear from you.
Rick

[Cazador]

Hi again,
I just took a look at the CA Dept of Fish & Game's online regulations book. Section 5.60 on pages 17 & 18 talk about collecting reptiles. If you have a fishing license, you're able to collect two California red-sideds. Here are the relevant quotes from the fishing regs:

5.60. Reptiles.

(a) General Provisions: Only the following reptiles may be taken under the authority of a sportfishing license, subject to the restrictions

in this section. The limit for each of the species listed below is two, unless otherwise provided. Limit, as used in this section, means daily bag and possession limit. No reptiles shall be taken from ecological reserves designated by the commission in Section 630 or from state parks, or national parks or monuments.

Common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), except San Francisco garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia): Special Closure: No common garter snakes shall be taken in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties.

Therefore, the daily bag limit on T.s. infernalis is two. What sweet news. I've sent them an e-mail to see if you could be reimbursed for real expenses. Very exciting. Talk to you soon,
Rick

[Thamnophis]

Hello Thamnophis,
I was heavily into it many years ago. Had just about everything except King Cobras. Biggest ever was a Retic back in 1980 about 20 feet. Big Burmese, etc, etc, also Rattlesnakes were a favorite then. Diamondbacks to Sidewinders. But I always respected the ways of the Natricine snakes. Thamnophis was always a favorite. So now I hope to establish and maintain a few species, hopefully producing offspring for sale and trade.

I take care of lots of big reptiles in our reptilezoo (Belangrijk!!!), but I still enjoy my Thamnophis at home.