Is it legal to walk around outside with your snake?

[Albert Clark]

In my opinion, unless the animal is in the privacy of your own home/yard, there is no reason to take it anywhere besides the vet. The vas majority of people have intense fears of snakes, and taking them in public often times does more harm than good... Especially with all the drama around the Lacey Act here in the states, all reptile keepers need to be respectful and do everything they can to lay low and not cause commotion. The few people I have known who handle their snakes for hours a day and tote their snake around with them have issues with the snakes getting respiratory infections, mites, refusing food, etc.

I don't really see any benefit for the snake, and it seems like a selfish thing for the human to do, in my opinion at least. All the time outside of the enclosure is time away from proper husbandry and increased levels of stress for the snake. If I want to take a pet with me somewhere to a pet friendly place it is my dog. To the person who said they take their snake anywhere a dog is allowed, just because a place is dog friendly doesn't mean it is reptile, especially snake, friendly, and we need to respect that.

I used to work in a small pet store in Florida, and I have literally seen people pass out or get physically violent towards someone when there was a snake around their neck or in their hand, even though they knew our store also sold reptiles.

Kudos to you MKmorphs you took the words out of my mouth! People who take their animals beyond the confines of their homes and out into the public arena are taking unnecessary risks. A lot of the keepers who do that are just showing off. If they were really responsible reptile keepers they would be respectful of some peoples fears of snakes. Right, the person who said they take their snake anywhere a dog is allowed obviously doesn't even know the difference between a domestic pet versus a exotic pet. Some herp keepers just continue to make it more and more difficult for other responsible keepers. USARK is out here fighting the government for the rights of people to own these exotic animals but some of us could care less as evidenced by the actions of some.