Licensing Requirements for Keepers in WA

New keepers sometimes do not realise all the legal responsibilities that come with owning a pet reptile or frog.  All the regulations are on the back of your license form but we have put together the most important in a list here for everyone to brush up on.

To keep a reptile as a pet you must have a licence issued by CALM

You are NOT allowed to sell your pet to another Keeper.  You are only allowed to sell back to a Dealer.

Do NOT release your pet into the wild – it will die.

It is ILLEGAL to take a reptile from the wild without the proper licence from CALM.

You are NOT allowed breed your pets without a Breeders or Farmers licence issued by CALM.  However you are allowed to raise one clutch of eggs each year. You can keep the babies or sell them back to a Dealer.

It is ILLEGAL to purchase pythons from another state and bring them into WA.  This quarantine law is to keep Inclusion Body Disease (IBD) from infecting our pythons in WA.

If you are moving interstate, check to make sure your pets are allowed to go with you.  Each state has a different list of reptiles that can be kept as pets.

You need to complete a Quarterly Record Keeping Sheet and send it to CALM every 3 months from the date of your licence approval (unless otherwise requested by CALM). You can print this form from our website.

CALM can prosecute for keeping any reptile without a licence and any reptile that is not on the approved list.  Penalties include up to $4,000 in fines per offence and a possible gaol sentence.

The only time you can have a reptile without a licence is when a reptile is sick or injured and in the care of a qualified registered wildlife carer.  Of course once it's healthy the animal must be returned to the wild.