As you may have noticed...

[dashnu]

I have been absent...

For those of you who are wondering whats up with me (maybe not many of ya.. but i did meet some great people on here ...

I am not legally allowed to keep garters in Maine. There really is no way MIFW is going to change their mind on this (I have tried and tried and tried was denied a permit for educational reasons even ).. The species is native thats that...

sooo as much as i hate it I am parting ways with all my garters. I figured if i keep them this time next year I would have well over 30 illegal snakes... They are still my favorite critter with such personality and spunk and will be missed.

This is why you might have seen my ads on here....

[sirtalis01]

that sucks man...some laws are pointless

[guidofatherof5]

I'm really sorry to hear that. Can you keep non-native?

[dashnu]

The people who force government to make the laws are stupid... Somebody thought it would be "cool" to have Northern Pike in one of our lakes.... now its wiping out the native fish population...

Guess they don't want to mess with nature.

[dashnu]

I'm really sorry to hear that. Can you keep non-native?

Nothing Thamnophis period

[guidofatherof5]

So, even non-native are banned.
That's crazy. Wait, it's government, that's normal.

[ssssnakeluvr]

Nothing Thamnophis period

thats freaking stupid.....do they allow other snakes in the pet stores???? how dumb can they be???

[dashnu]

hey Don, yea we have a rather large unrestricted list now. A bunch was added to it about 3 months ago. I was hoping thams would be one..

[Stefan-A]

Nothing Thamnophis period

None of the 35 species?

[ConcinusMan]

Jeez, that's ridiculous! I mean c'mon. Thams are genus, not a species. I think I would be looking deeper into the fine print on that law.

I lived in San Diego for a few years in the 1980's and I think at the time it was a CA state law that you couldn't keep a (specifically reptiles) SPECIES that was native to the state, and collecting of any native species is illegal without a permit too. (I collected anyway, but always released them eventually) They gave me a bunch of crap too and wouldn't budge. I lived in Navy housing, subject to unannounced inspections. Once they saw my CA kingsnake, I was told it was not a problem with housing rules but was against state law, and I was told to remove the snake immediately. I didn't do it. I fought it. Turns out, I had proof that the snake was purchased in WA state, and was captive bred and a beloved family pet for over 10 years that I had no intention of parting with. Turns out there was a small loophole and that my snake was legal to keep with a small annual permit fee. Of course, I had to do some legal homework and present my evidence, so it wasn't easy but I wasn't about to give up my baby without a fight.

I think I would dig deeper into the language of the law if you haven't already done that. I don't think they can ban an entire genus just because a few species of that genus are found in the state. If the law is worded to be species specific, (say that five times fast) keep your garters that are obviously, unmistakeably NOT found in Maine(get rid of all sirtalis regardless of subspecies) and get documentation or expert opinion (usually free) as to their specific species. Many university professors and such would be glad to do that for free. Also, make sure who the law applies to. In WA it's legal to collect and keep native garter snakes, but it's NOT legal for pet stores to sell species that are native to the state. If the Maine law says it's illegal to keep any non-native species that is likely to survive if released, (like CA laws) then you're screwed. You might find a way out so that you can keep at least some of them. I'm just saying, there is a way to fight it if you care too. If it's too much trouble, then that is your choice. Family takes priority above a snake in any case.

I think there's a chance that if you have some non-sirtalis Thams, and can prove it, that perhaps you can keep them. The ban on ALL thamnophis only applies to the pet trade in many states. Just because Thams are not listed on your allowed list, doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a way to keep non-native Thams legally even if they are banned from pet stores in the state.