Giants in Florida

I remember reading about this a few years ago how giants were being released in the wild (Florida) by owners that were unable to care for them any longer.

I just seen an ad on KS for large size Burms for sale which are wildcaught in FL.

Is this still a growing problem down there?

Has anyone seen them in the wild for themselves?

Quite interested.

so he's advertising his wild caught, previous captive, burms? sounds like a marketing ploy... i was down there for a week this summer and no, its not like they're all over.

Naw snakes don't just roam around down here in Florida. Only wild snakes I usually see are black racers.

Anoles are extremly overabundant down here. Anywhere you walk you see them running everywhere, although they don't really cause problems.

Now gators and iguanas are different. I have seen some 6-7 foot iguanas down here in the wild. Gators are in pretty much any pond area you can see. I had a pond at my old high school which had 2-3 gators in the pond. Gators don't really hurt anything down here unless humans bother them.

burms have been loose in the everglades since 1980 when the hurricanes came through and distroyed all the importer facility down there. its not from people releasing 1 or 2 at a time. and when someone says it a wildcaught florida burm that is what it is. florida has 44 exotic reptiles

Go check it out in the python classifieds.

Its a more recent one.

http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=7&de=548572

i did check it out. i know some people that catch them and other exotics to sell to strictly's reptiles. it perfectly legal to catch but it is illegal to release the snake

I thought that was somewhat illegal, to own a Florida caught Burm?....

From what I knew, they were supposed to be captured, data collected, and then destroyed; with a small amount of them getting tracking devices put in them for further study on how to rid the Everglades of them. If you capture one, and keep it, then by all means go for it as long as your quiet on where it came from.....but to capture one, then advertise it for sale...something that from what most know to be illegal....Couldn't that just hurt the hobby?.....

i don't think it is illegal for private dealers to collect and sell. i know florida's fwc collects and distroys them. i'll look that up today

Actually, one thing I did see last year was a picture of a snake, that was split open......


What happened was, one of those burmese pythons was hunting out in the everglades, and ate an adult alligator, because of the sheer size of it, the snake's stomach and whole body split apart, so there's this gnarly pic somewhere online of a half-digested alligator with a dead snake covering the other half of it- both dead of course.

That's the last thing I've head down here, everything else is about alligators eating someone's stupid dog or something

I have talked to Skip Snow a few times about the burm problem down here. It is illegal to catch them if they are on the federal portion of the everglades.

So that means that the Homestead population is legal to catch and sell. I guess I am heading down there next weekend, haha!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thedotw

Actually, one thing I did see last year was a picture of a snake, that was split open......


What happened was, one of those burmese pythons was hunting out in the everglades, and ate an adult alligator, because of the sheer size of it, the snake's stomach and whole body split apart, so there's this gnarly pic somewhere online of a half-digested alligator with a dead snake covering the other half of it- both dead of course.

That's the last thing I've head down here, everything else is about alligators eating someone's stupid dog or something

---

There was something fishy about the whole thing. IIRC the snake was discovered with no head. Although, somebody could have come along and taken the head for a souvenir.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ffollett

I have talked to Skip Snow a few times about the burm problem down here. It is illegal to catch them if they are on the federal portion of the everglades.

---

you know what's up. if i find any burms in the glades i'm gonna give Skip Snow a call. check out this pic i came across...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...gladessign.jpg

WOW! are you serious???
I wuold grab them up in a heart beat.
Does anyone know of any exact location and time where I can find these snakes. It would be a blast to go herping for snakes so big and beautiful.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Street Killer

you know what's up. if i find any burms in the glades i'm gonna give Skip Snow a call. check out this pic i came across...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...gladessign.jpg

---

I think that's just sad. Some people are so irresponsible.