Keeping snakes is a popular hobby in South Africa. All across the country, thousands of people keep a variety of snake species in their homes, from harmless to highly venomous.
Some enthusiasts build extravagant enclosures that are beautifully decorated with plants and water features, complete with heating and special lighting, while breeders usually keep snakes in simple but functional and hygienic enclosures.
Most provinces require permits to keep local snakes, except for KwaZulu-Natal where most snakes can be kept without a permit, even those caught in the wild. In other provinces, only captive-bred snakes may be kept as pets. (You can get a permit from your provincial nature conservation office, or e-mail Johan for details johan@asiorg.co.za - Ed.)
Most provinces also permit the keeping of exotic snakes. Thus, several breeders sell snakes like American corn snakes and West African ball pythons. With the ball python, colour morphs have become very popular (snakes bred to have exotic patterns and colours) and some animals cost thousands of rands. A massive expo is held annually in Joburg where all sorts of snakes, enclosures and accessories can be purchased.
You might be wondering why you'd want to keep a snake and not a bird or a fish…Well, a snake is easy to house, provided you have the right facilities, and it only eats once or twice a week. They're relatively clean animals and are fascinating to observe, even in captivity. Beginners usually start with docile, harmless species like brown house snakes or egg eaters, but venomous snakes are also popular pets, even deadly ones like rattlesnakes, king cobras, taipans and mambas.
Such snakes should never be kept by beginners because accidents can happen. Treating a serious snakebite is expensive - it can cost anything from R100 000 to well over R1 million. Hospital costs will usually be covered by medical aid, or given free in a state hospital, but antivenom for exotic snakes is not freely available and can easily set you back more than R300 000.
There are several associations for snake keepers in South Africa, like the Association of Reptile Keepers ( ark-kzn.co.za) and most of them have pages on social media. Anyone keen on keeping a snake should join such organisations and learn from more experienced keepers.
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