The proposed "Illinois Dangerous Animals Act of 2012, Senate Bill SB3264", a bill which would have eliminated and restricted the ownership of many pet reptiles in Illinois, was the agenda of a Senate hearing today at the state capital in Springfield. A group of concerned Illinois pet and business owners, led by the always fearless and outspoken Brian Potter, went to Springfield today to speak their minds on the proposal.

I had a chance to speak with Brian for a few minutes right after the hearing. He was kind enough to give us an update on the current situation in Illinois.
Click here to hear the interview with Brian Potter.

It was the other shoe dropping for our community. Four species of pythons have been added to the Lacey Act of the United States. On Tuesday, February 28, the Judiciary Committee will see another bill looking to include the remaining original species of snakes. From the House of Representatives webpage:

A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the importatiion of various injurious species of constrictor snakes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. IMPORTATION OR SHIPMENT OF INJURIOUS SPECIES.
Section 42(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended in the first sentence by inserting after ‘‘polymorpha;’’ the following: ‘‘of the Indian python of the species Python molurus, including the Burmese python of the species Python molurus bivittatus; of the reticulated python of the species Broghammerus reticulatus or Python reticulatus; of the Northern African python of the species Python sebae; of the Southern African python of the species Python natalensis; of the boa constrictor of the species Boa constrictor; of the yellow anaconda of the species Eunectes notaeus; of the DeSchauensee’s anaconda of the species Eunectes deschauenseei; of the green anaconda of the species Eunectes murinus; of the Beni anaconda of the species Eunectes beniensis;’’

This would be a good time to reach out to your representatives. Remember: always be polite. Explain that the recent Lacey Act Rule including the Burmese, the Yellow Anaconda and the Northern and Southern Rock Pythons has not taken effect nor has it proven to be a failed addition. Also point out that this bill will criminalize many responsible owners on such basic tasks as crossing the state lines for vet care or in the event the family moves. You can also touch on the job loss and the impact this will have on the economy. Make it personal, and do not refer to your animals as a "collection" but as pets.
Not sure who your representative is? Click here to find out. After the bump there is a list of those targeted as key members of the judiciary committee, however to reach out to the full list of committee members, click here.

Lamar Smith (R-TX)- 202-225-4236

Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)- 202-225-5101

Howard Coble (R-NC)- 202-225-3065

Darrell Issa (R-CA)- 202-225-3906

Louie Gohmert (R-TX)- 202-225-3035

Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)- 202-225-7751

Trey Gowdy (R-SC)- 202-225-6030

Ted Poe (R-TX)- 202-225-6565

Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)- 202-225-5431

Blue Tongue Skins in Australia are develping resistance to the poisonous Cane Toad. From NewScientist.com:

Some blue-tongue lizards in eastern Australia can dine on the cane toads and live, though. Oddly enough, they might owe their immunity to another invasive species.

An ornamental plant native to Madagascar called mother-of-millions (Bryophyllum delagoense) is common in eastern Australia, and has also become part of the lizards' diet. The plants' flowers contain a poison similar to bufadienolide. Rick Shine at the University of Sydney, Australia, suspected that lizards which have already gained immunity to this toxin might be in a better position to withstand the toad toxin too.

His team caught 75 lizards that lived in areas containing either the toad and the ornamental plant, just one of the two, or neither of the toxic invaders. Shine injected toad poison into the lizards, administering a dose high enough to provoke a reaction, but not enough to kill the animal. His team then timed how fast the lizards could swim 50 centimetres.

Blue-tongue lizards from areas containing mother-of-millions were affected to a lesser degree than any others. This was true even for lizards that lived in regions of eastern Australia that contain no cane toads.

To read the full article, click here.