Alberta Reptile Laws

[Spankenstyne]

Nerodia taxispilota is fine as far as Alberta regs go though.

[RedDeerExotics]

ooooo ill have to realease my snake just in case i dont want them to take my collection

[Spankenstyne]

I would just surrender them to F&W explaining that you just found out they're Bull Snakes. Releasing them is technically illegal, and they likely won't survive being out of their native habitat.

[RedDeerExotics]

good idea thanks again and awsome want to attempt a brown water pairing

[Faltang1090]

Hey just piping in the "Gray" ratsnake is illegal not the "grey" ratsnake. I got freaked out, I have 2 grey ratsnakes in a 1.1 Pair

[RedDeerExotics]

soo i think my bull/gopher snake might be a pacific gopher, wich is quite rare now days from what i was told f&w is going to come take a look

[FrogO_Oeyes]

SARA only affects animals in the places in which SARA desgnates them. Wild Canadian populations of Pacific and Great Basin gopher snakes are protected [but BC protects them anyway]. Animals of other origins are not protected by SARA. You can figure that out by reviewing the SARA species, since SARA designates blotched tiger salamanders in BC, but it does NOT designate those of other provinces. It's meant to protect Canadian populations, or portions thereof, in the wild in Canada.

You can't readily identify bull versus Great Basin gophers by color or pattern. You need to do scale counts.

i did have a bull snake at one point but was informed that they were illegal to posses which i now know you can posses them just not sell them or traffic.

Currently you cannot possess them either, unless you had them when they were legal to possess and obtained a permit during the transition period.

ill have to try and get a permit then

Years too late for that.

Gray ratsnakes are not illegal, regardless of how you spell the name. However, Scotophis are problematic because the prohibited form "black ratsnake Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta" does not exist. Black ratsnakes are northern populations of Scotophis alleghaniensis, Scotophis spiloides, and Scotophis obsoletus. None of these three has recognized subspecies, so "obsoleta obsoleta" essentially now includes western forms which were legal before. I've discussed these before. They will pose a problem for the next revision of the controlled list. If anyone actually knew which species [assuming it was pure] they had, they could probably argue that they simply have black specimens of S.spiloides or S.alleghaniensis, or non-black specimens of S.obsoletus. In each case they would seem to meet the letter of the law, since none of those three situations have the scientific and common names in agreement.

Found no mention of the California Lyre- Trimorphodon biscutatus vandenburghi

Trimorphodon isn't on there. The animals you refer to are peninsular lyresnakes Trimorphodon lyrophanes. California lyres haven't been recognized as distinct in 18 years, and T.biscutatus was split up four years ago.

[Michael Roth]

As remarkable as the lyre is, I don't relish washing mice and rubbing them down with geckos.

[Spankenstyne]

soo i think my bull/gopher snake might be a pacific gopher, wich is quite rare now days from what i was told f&w is going to come take a look

Again if it was wild caught in Alberta it can only be a Bull Snake. Pacific Gophers used to be found on the west coast of BC and are still protected in the BC regs but are believed to no longer be found there (no sightings in over 50 years & listed as extirpated)

Some range maps here too (P6)
http://publications.gc.ca/collection...-338-2003E.pdf

[joeysgreen]

To follow the reasoning of the law, the black rat snake from Ontario is the targeted species that is illegal. Taxonomy has changed lots since then and following frogo's post will sort that out.

Similarily, the water snakes that are illegal to keep are the northern water snake, Nerodia sipedon which are native to Ontario. All other Nerodia are legal, and awesome by the way!