Reptiles as Pets
If you are thinking of keeping a reptile as a pet you should find out what you are letting yourself in for. A book well worth reading is "Care of Australian Reptiles in Captivity" by John Weigel.
All native reptiles are protected and you need a licence to keep any in captivity. It is illegal to keep exotic (non-Australian) reptiles in captivity.
What you need to know first
If you are thinking of keeping a reptile as a pet you should find out what you are letting yourself in for. A book well worth reading is "Care of Australian Reptiles in Captivity" by John Weigel. This contains lots of information on housing, feeding, breeding, diseases as well as care sheets on a whole range of species. There is also a range of booklets produced by Australian Reptile Keeper Publications, Bendigo on keeping Long-necked and Short-necked turtles, Shingleback lizards, Bearded dragons, Blue-tongue lizards and Carpet pythons. Having read up on reptile keeping you will have to decide what particular animals you want to keep.
Long term Commitment
Remember - a reptile is a long term commitment. Turtles can live for more than 30 years, pythons for more than 15 years and lizards such as Blue-tongues for 20 years. Your pet may well outlive you.
Licences
Licences are issued by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. To obtain a licence contact Wildlife Licensing (Phone +612 9585 6444) and ask for an application form to be sent to you. Complete the form and return it to the Service with the appropriate fee. If you live in other Australian states of territories check your local national parks service for details.
Locating a reptile keeper
Once you have received your licence you can start your quest to locate a suitable animal. Reptiles cannot be removed from the wild (or even from the back garden) and can only be obtained from another keeper. In New South Wales reptiles cannot be purchased in a pet shop although they are available through some interstate pet shops.
If you do not know any keepers you should join one of the reptile groups to meet other people with similar interests, to find out more about keeping and to obtain your reptile. Most groups have facilities at meetings for members to advertise animals available or wanted, and some groups also provide this information in their newsletters.
Keeping records
When you have found your animal a transfer is made from the present holder to you. You must provide to the person from whom you are obtaining the animal your licence number, name and address. That person must in return provide you with their licence number, name and address. You must record this information immediately into the record book that you will have received with your licence. Similarly if you acquire any additional animals, lose or dispose of any, this must also be recorded in the book.
The record book must be completed and returned to the Service in April of each year. You are liable to be fined if you fail to do this.
Your licence is renewed every two years on 1 December and you will receive a notification from the Service inviting renewal.
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