INDIANANGLER

Hi,
I was wondering if it is legal to keep snakes as pets in India. Also can we ship snakes to India ? I understand we are not allowed to keep the native/ wild caught species. But can we bring a captive bred Ball Python and keep them as pets?

Anyone got any information on this, please let me know..

Thanks,
Binu

So you are planning to bring them to India now!!!

Binu, I suggest you stick to fish.

hi binu herpetology is one of my interests.
i volunteer for an ngo called sarpa rakshak sanstha here in pune.
in the past i have kept snakes at home for about the duration of a week.. they were always temporary guests
this was from time to time whenever id seen people trying to kill em near my college ... this was sometime back..
i would feed them and release them in the hill regions around pune.

I have friends who have pet snakes in India. I do not know about importing them into the country. Will advise if I have any info.

Dr Prasad any input on this bro

Hamour, nice to meet one with similar interests. How did keep the snakes, in a tank similar to an aquarium with tightly closed lid?
Thanks Bobby, but I am also not sure if we could import snakes. They create a fuzz when you import fish like arowanas, and with snakes they will end up in a Snake Park i guess ..

Regards,
Binu

these tanks are called terrariums..

no i didnnt use tanks ..

i have a old wooden showcase at home with sliding glass..its quite big .

i had put in some rocks and sand and a piece of dead tree bough..

a plastic water trough embedded in the sand.

for heating i had placed a study lamp outside the glass ..

i would turn it on in the morning for abt 2 hrs and again for a little while in the evening.... so that the inside would get warm enough.. (p.s. note .. different snake need different kinds of heat and terrarium settings ..

( you could check this book called Giant and non venonomous snakes by Klaus Griehl- that was my first book on snakes ,when i was in std 6... very detailed info.. ) sadly my mom has hidden it or thrown it out coz i still cant find it till today...)



mostly my guests at snake motel would be common trinkits , vine snakes
sand and jon's boas and rat snakes ..

i have seen my guests eat too.

all the times they would be fed by hand ... i would hold the snake just behind the jaw, this way the tend to open their mouth.. then with tweezers i have feed them beef .. normally they wont eat natural prey initially when captured ... they are not in their natural habitat... only after a a while say two weeks to a month , they would take live prey , depending on their temperament and when and what they had eaten last.. since i never kept them for more than a week i never got to see that .

i have never ventured to keep any cobra or krait that i have caught..

fortunately or unfortunately i have not handled a russels viper ..

even now i wouldnt want to take that chance ... i fashioned a snake net with an old badminton raquet and mosquito netting .. with a bamboo rod and that ,you can pretty much get any venomous snake in the bag , without laying your hands on it..

less trauma for the snake and definitely onesself.

having said this , i want to say the above set up was just a temporary shelter for the snakes that came to my house...

i would not keep them longer than a week.. so i really dont keep snakes as pets per say.

Thanks Hamour,
for the detailed explanation. I have been reading about terrariums for sometime and in the U.S they are very easy to get.. You get all the things needed to setup a terrarium for a tarantula or snakes in most pet shops. I dont have any plans to keep venomous snakes..
I read that a Ball Python could become a very good pet, thats why was wondering if any of you guys were keeping snakes..

Cheers,
Binu

i wouldnt keep that big a snake .... would need a fairly big terrarium to be fair to it..

plus you would need to rear its prey species or purchase it...from time to time ... difficult , expensive and time consuming.

pythons raised in captivity can be docile ....but a snake is a snake .... not ideal with children around......

you should also be aware of the diseases it may contract .. and have the means to tend to it.. most vets in india are not up to this....

u must think of it care , when u are out of town....

on the whole it is a big responsibility..

you must be aware .. abroad .. they have animal welfare police to look into all of this .. even then people who can't handle their 'pets ' needs end up abandoning them , much to the detriment of the animal and people .....

i request u to really consider your choice ...

instead of keeping a snake / snakes ... try and volunteer in related rescue , conservation , education work.... whereever you are ..

this way you will satisfy your interest in snakes and do some good to snakes and people .....

I have been keeping my trap shut on this one for many reasons. But not any more.

Please do not keep snakes as pets. They are not 'designed' for such a fate. Hamour is right in saying that we in India do not have the backup system to allow us such 'luxuries'. Instead, do as he says and volunteer at the nearest snake rescue NGO or such.

I made the mistake of doing this as a kid. (Rajatda knows about my shady past and can confirm) I had an Asiatic Rock python about 3 feet long, a rat snake about 5 1/2 feet long and a Russel Viper about a foot long. The rat snake and the viper I caught and the python was robbed of a snake charmer. They lived in my room in an old aquarium, a big wooden crate and the viper was locked inside a triple story hamster 'playpen'.

Sure the chicks thought I was cool. Till the viper bit me. And i was in hospital for a few weeks. I was lucky as the snake was very small and had just been 'milked' for its venom by me. And the bite was more of a very small scratch.

All this is fine but they need a lot of care and time. Feeding, temp control, enough exercise and cleaning their potty. Man that really stank up my room. Which the chicks did not find very cool.

So head out into the wild and see these beauties in their real world. Just don't get them back. Please.

hi ken.... thanks for backing it up man...

u da man...

talking of snake poo... i had an experience once , where the opposite happened..... the snake upchucked its dinner.....

it was a meter long common trinket that i had kept in my jacket pocket (zippered pocket..) i was riding to the church choir practice.. the road at some parts was bumpy ....got done with the choir prac and one of the girls comes up to me and asks for a drop ... i say ok , no probs... as i put my jacket on i get this faint musky smell... i decide i'll investigate later .. and hope the girl riding pillion does'nt get the smell.

we reach her place and as she gets of the bike she says, "i did'nt want to tell u ... but ur smelling wierd... i say it's not me , and to show off , i unzip the jacket pocket zipper and pull out the trinket.... as i did that ... i felt something wet in my pocket... fearing the worst and hoping for the best ... i turned my pocket inside out .. and down plops a semi digested mole.... u should have seen the girls face..... thankfully she was'nt someone i was intrested in... so i did'nt bother much....


on he other hand ... my fiance likes snakes, like me and does'nt mind me fishing... so yipeeee.. but she does get scared of birds...(the feathered kind) but that is another story.......

Hamour,
Ha ha ha Nice experience mate. I am still laughing at that one.
Ken,
I understand, how difficult it is to keep snakes at home.. I never thought of the maintenance in the long run.. It might be fun to look and keep them maybe for a month or so, but then you are right..
It might get boring to see the snake lying in a dark corner of a tank which rarely moves, perhaps only when it wants to eat.. Also storing the food for them would be a problem.. I would be thrown out of my house if i keep frozen rats in the freezer. Rats you can hide them in some small corner of the fridge, but what if my snake gets large ?? Then I would have to find a place to hide my frozen rabitts!! Also finding a vet to treat a snake would be another problem..
As you guys said its better to leave them in the wild, untill
you are sure that you are going to stay home for the next few years
you are sure your snake wouldn't bite you
you have the space to have a snake
you have a small fridge for yourself :-)
and the ppl at your home dont think you are a freak..

I remember the fox in the story saying "I'll bet the grapes are sour!" :(

Regards,
Binu

binu.... man im so happy for u and really proud of ur decision...good call there...

Thanks Binu!

Below is a excerpt from the TOI supplement in pune...

actual truth of the matter was that someone in that building having certain connections was illegally housing that snake... Mr. Pansare , the gentleman who heads the org i volunteer for had told us...

thought i'll put this up as proof that such things do happen.

"PUNE: It was an unusual occurrence on Friday night when a seven ft Indian rock python found its way to the balcony of a fifth floor apartment
in Lullanagar.

The fully-grown female python was spotted around 11.15 pm in the house of Sajid Shaikh at Carina Terrace Apartments. Brijesh Suryawanshi, a volunteer with the Katraj snake park, came to the rescue and caught the reptile. "When I saw the python, it was on the balcony and was climbing towards a window on the sixth floor," said Suryawanshi.

"The non-venomous snake is about 6 kg in weight and brown in colour, with amoeba-shaped patches on the hide," Suryawanshi added. Commonly known as Ajgar, the Indian rock python is a rare species of snake. "The whole process of catching the repitle took about half an hour, and now it has been sent to the snake park for a medical check-up," said Suryawanshi.

According to Neelimkumar Khaire, director of the Katraj snake park, "The snake appears fine, even though we found an injury on its back, which looks at least two months old. Once the snake recovers, we will release it in the nearby forest."

The flat where the snake was found, has been vacant for the last six months. On Friday night, when the owners opened the door, they found the python coiled up on the balcony.

"It is a rare occurrence to find such a snake in the heart of a residential area. We have no clue how it found its way into the building," Abrar Sayed, secretary, Carina society, said.

Khaire, however, has an explanation. "It’s a case of passive migration. The reptile must have got onto a vehicle like a truck in the forest and travelled all the way to the city." The python is usually found in the dense forests. "This could be the first time that such a huge serpent was found in the heart of the city," said Khaire."

WOW!

So can someone tell me what the shape of an Amoeba is?

Amoeba.... err.... Kinda of like a square without any corners or straight lines.

Youve been sniffing the wifes talcum powder again

lol

hahahahahahahahaahah

No way! I love my brain.

I was wondering when would you join this thread even i still remember that stench you were a mad cap correction you still are

Funny this thread should come up now.Was considering keeping a rough scaled sand boa. Apparently because of their size,space requirements,activity levels, temperament they make good pets.
Regards,
Yaj.

Had my first pet snake at 4yrs......thank you pops !

Bro was an excellent snake handler....he was 6yrs.

Sorry all you wild life enthusiasts.... I killed the snake 6 months after getting it........ was playing with it on the terrace & mum called for me to go to school....... I left it there & ran off to school.........when I came back from school, the snake was stuck to the terrace & dried up.



That was the end for me.....dad said, no more snakes

Anyway, the next snake I got was 7 years later. Found some people killing a snake (after school). Got it home, but it already had some vertebrae broken. It lasted only 3 days, even after feeding it.

The next snake came in a month later. Caught it in the khadi (marshy area), Kalina university. Amazing chap......fast & used to jump @ 2 feet high. We had him for a week & then released him again.
Mom used to freak out when we took him out of the tank & the maid wouldnt enter the house at all.....

Anyway, all the snakes we had were keelbacks (water snakes / non poisonous).

I've had an array of pets at home, but having a snake was like being in another league. some of the pets we had were....... white rats, field mice, shrews, snakes, frogs, fish, turtles, crabs, tortoise, various birds, dogs, cats, chickens

btw, we used to feed the snakes frogs, tadpoles, fish & at times small pieces of meat.


I dont have any pets now & besides getting a dog, I wouldnt want to keep any wild or exotic pet. I'd probably just be happy seeing them in the wild / in their own environment. (Maybe I'd keep some fish for the pan )

Keyur! Get the dog fast mate. Nothing is complete without one.

there you are 100%correct wish i can get one too but the Mumbai houses are really too small mate

Hi M'ken,


it sure is awesome having a dog as a pet.

Mum always called the dog her best son. Had dogs as pets right through my growing up years in Bombay. We needed them as we had lots of fruit trees in our compound

I have loads of amazing stories about my dogs, but I'll save that for sometime later.

Cant really keep one here in Dubai due to various reasons. Maybe I'll get one when I get back to Bombay.

Nice to know that there are more people interested in keeping snakes.. Dogs are the best pet for sure. But i am afraid of dogs, i like to watch them from a distance..
Have anyone kept tarantulas?

Regards,
Binu

Wow next we would have some tigers. gorillas, the entire Zoo guys just joking mates

An electric fence was not enough to stop this python from stealing a farmer's sheep. Note outline of sheep in the python's stomach.[/img]

Sorry folks but I was unable to upload the pictures. Will try again or send it to one of you gentleman by email with a request to upload. Worth seeing.