Are bal pythons illegal in Virginia?

Ok so in a future i plan to move to Va and ive tried to read up on the laws but they seem vague at worst and complicated at best. Some counties say reptiles are prohibited "at large", term which i googled and ended up even more confused as it can be a very vague term seemingly up for interpretation in some cases? I own 2 ball pythons.

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*ball pythons sorry for thr typo

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IMO if the laws aren't clear, they are rarely enforced. Keep your snakes inside and no one should nose around enough to find them and report you. (Unless you will live in a county/gated community that has established rules.) Here's a link to some Virginia laws. Looks like Bps are identified as wild animals and may require a permit. http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/herplaw/

At the state level ball pythons are legal. Some Virginia cities have their own ordinances regarding exotic animals, Arlington in particular is currently looking at changing theirs to ban all snakes longer than four feet.

In addition some HOA's have CCR's about home-based businesses so breeding and selling as a business would be a no-no but doing it as a hobby would be fine.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

At the state level ball pythons are legal. Some Virginia cities have their own ordinances regarding exotic animals, Arlington in particular is currently looking at changing theirs to ban all snakes longer than four feet.

In addition some HOA's have CCR's about home-based businesses so breeding and selling as a business would be a no-no but doing it as a hobby would be fine.

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Wow, I had no idea Arlington is considering bans. I love the city and that really makes me sad. :( Luckily, male BP's likely won't exceed four feet, though it might be pushing it a bit.

There are ball pythons all over Virginia. So are retics, burms, boas and hots so ball pythons would probably be one of the last snakes I'd worry about. Although it doesn't hurt to look at the specific city and county you plan on moving to. As far as state law they are legal

I wouldn't sweat it.

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Originally Posted by FlynnTheBP

Wow, I had no idea Arlington is considering bans. I love the city and that really makes me sad. :( Luckily, male BP's likely won't exceed four feet, though it might be pushing it a bit.

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I went ahead and put the USARK alert in the legislation forum.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...gton-County-VA

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I went ahead and put the USARK alert in the legislation forum.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...gton-County-VA

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I noticed. Thanks for telling me. It's really too bad that these bans are being enacted.

4 feet doesn't make sense either. Common corn and king snakes get bigger than that, and they are by no means a public danger. You can tell the people writing this sort of legislation have no idea what they're doing.