Can't answer any questions about why people keep them or husbandry requirements. But in terms of legalities...

Quote Originally Posted by jason_ladouceur View Post
I don't live in California so I might be a little off on the laws in your state. Hopefully someone who does live there can correct me if I'm wrong or my understanding of your states laws is incomplete. I believe that you require a permit to keep any non-indigenous species of venomous reptile in California. But it is my understanding that anything such as crotalus viridis or other species that are native to your state are legal to keep. This of course is more than likely also regulated by municipal bylaw as well so you should definatly check your local laws to make sure that you are even allowed to keep hots in your area. It is also quite possible that you may require a permit to legally field collect any animal in your state so you should check with fish and wildlife to verify that as well.
Hope that helps a little.
This is actually incorrect. I'm not an expert on the law by any means, but I am a wildlife biologist and deal with wildlife laws on a pretty regular basis. I also am a California resident. That's the background for what I do know...

That being said...

It is actually ILLEGAL to keep *native* species. In order to do so, you will need permits. First, you will need a collection permit to legally collect native reptiles. I do not know what the cost is (my scientific collecting permit now costs over $400, used to be only $60 just a year ago!), nor do I know what justification you need. Get in touch with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to find out. You *might* need a permit to legally keep a native reptile once collected. I am not positive about this though.

That being said... there are a few holes in law. Some kingsnakes and rosy boas are both native species, but are also widely available in the pet trade, including pet stores. *Technically* there is supposed to be a permitting process for these animals. Breeders are supposed to hold a permit stating the animals in question were either legally collected, or legally bred in captivity. Those breeders (from what I understand) are supposed to take down the information for any one buying their snakes, and report to CDFW, stating those animals were legally bred and sold in captivity and not collected from the wild. I also know for a fact these processes are not followed. Technically anyone without a permit, or who did not buy from a permitted breeder, could potentially have their animals confiscated, if caught. That's if CDFW decides to follow through and enforce the law (whether they will or not depends on a number of factors, I'm sure... I do know they are understaffed and overworked though, some areas more so than others).

So with that in mind... venomous reptile are another matter. They are not widely available in the pet trade (if at all, I've never seen one in a pet store out here), they are dangerous, and I believe there are actually laws regarding the keeping of venomous animals (at least on a local municipal level, if not statewide level). So the regulations are probably very different. I'm sure in addition to a collecting permit, you would need some kind of permit for keeping a venomous animal.

In terms of non-native wildlife... whether or not it is legal to keep depends on the species in question. Ball pythons, various garter snakes, corn snakes, etc are all non-native, but also completely legal to keep. I've seen anacondas, reticulated pythons, and burmese pythons in local stores, and assume those are legal too. All kinds of lizards are legal to keep. Same with frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and turtles. For the most part, as long as it is non-native, non-venomous, and has not been banned for some reason (I am not aware of any, off the top of my head) it is legal to keep. What's interesting about this is the same does not apply to mammals and birds kept in captivity in this state. Many avian and mammalian species are in fact illegal, even though the majority of reptile/amphibian species are not. Ferrets, gerbils, degus, African soft-furred rats, various parrots, etc are all illegal to keep in the state of California. They've some how been determined "especially injurious" to the native ecosystems (yet some reptilian species, such as red-eared sliders, bullfrogs, and African clawed frogs who actually do pose a threat and take over natural habitats, eating all our native wildlife, spreading disease, and out-competing, are not "especially injurious"?). I can also tell you there are a lot of people who keep these animals anyway, despite the laws.