Pet Amnesty & Python Patrol

Snakes– people will either recoil in disgust or think they’re the cutest pets ever. Disregarding their appearance, there’s no doubt that native snakes in Florida are beneficial. They eat the rodents in your garden, maintain a healthy food chain & ecosystem, and even eat venomous snakes. Burmese Pythons, a snake species invasive to Florida, does practically the opposite of the beneficial native snakes. It eats too much, throws the food chain & ecosystem out of whack, and competes for resources with other snakes in such a way that limits the ability of native snakes to thrive.

So why on Earth would people in Florida have them as pets? I know I’ve thought this before, and you may have been thinking it as you read the introduction. Some people truly believe that these snakes are fascinating creatures– after all, they can grow to enormous sizes and are rumored by some snake lovers to have a great temperament. People who are interested in these snakes and have a full understanding of the maintenance and upkeep required, as well as the large size these snakes will grow to, could by all means have Burmese pythons as pets and it would not have an impact on the fragile Everglades ecosystem. While there is no problem with a careful and able owner keeping a licensed, tagged, and permitted Burmese python as a pet in Florida, it is the illegal and undocumented pet Burmese Pythons who are being released into the wild by unprepared or careless owners that have an impact. Untagged pythons who are either let go by panicked owners or who escape could easily spread into the wild, mate, and create more pythons who will continue to compete with native snakes and eat endangered Everglades species. As you can see, documentation & careful ownership are key.

But back to the panicked owners…temporary amnesty and rehoming of your pet is available!

How do I rehome my pet and what does it mean?

Rehoming your exotic pet will allow you to give up your pet to a qualified pet owner with no penalties/fees! The FWC allows you to rehome your nonnative pet by filling out a form through this website: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/amnesty-program/rehome-a-nonnative-pet/.

This will allow you to safely give your pet to a loving home where it will be watched over by careful and diligent owners. Finding an adopter may take a bit of time, but you can submit the form anytime throughout the year. During the time period between submitting the form and transferring your pet, you will be granted temporary amnesty and will not be punished for having an exotic/potentially harmful pet.

If you have an exotic pet and feel you are not qualified/able to take care of it, please consider submitting this form and finding a new home for your pet.

Want to learn more about Burmese pythons and how to humanely capture/kill them?

Attend a Python Patrol meeting! Also through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Python Patrol has virtual meetings available to the public. An FWC biologist will teach you more about pythons– how to identify, safely capture and kill, and report these snakes. Interested? Read more here: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/python/patrol/

If this sounds intriguing, also consider the Florida Python Challenge, which is a competition in which participants compete to remove Burmese pythons from the protected lands in Florida for a cash prize! Check it out here: https://flpythonchallenge.org/

Keep in mind that emails/hotlines are listed for pet amnesty & python patrol, so if you have any questions, make sure to reach out to those contacts!

Thank you for reading and feel free to see my source links below! Also check out my website: studentsagainstinvasivespecies.org for my information on invasive species. Instagram: @studentsagainstinvasivespecies