MACON, Ga. — What started as a hobby slithered into something much more for married couple Brian and Sheila McCant.
"It kind of went from a hobby to a business," Sheila said.
She and her husband own B and J Reptiles. They breed snakes and geckos along with other animals, too.
Shelia estimates they breed about 150 to 200 snakes a year. They planned to add a new snake, a Burmese python. It can get between 10ft to 16ft in length. A new law in Georgia halted their plans.
"We wouldn't have been able to breed," explained McCant.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources board voted in 2022 that Burmese pythons can't be bred in the state.
Thomas Floyd with DNR says the rules are set in place so invasive species don't get released in Georgia. They can survive in the wild and impact the state's native wildlife.
The Burmese python isn't the only reptile on the list. It includes Argentine white and Black Tegus as well.
"Not only does it compete with native wildlife for food resources, but it will also kill other reptiles it encounters as means for competing," Floyd said.
Sheila has mixed feelings about the regulations. She points to Florida, where pets have escaped after hurricanes have spread into the environment.
"If you were not prepared as an owner and a breeder, then those snakes got wiped up and out," Sheila said.
She thinks Burmese Pythons would have a hard time living in the weather in Georgia.
"If we had one and it got out, we would probably lose all our chickens and goats, but if it's winter time, they don't have the climate," says Sheila.
By Dec. 4, the following reptiles and amphibians must be registered by their owners:
- Nile monitors
- African helmeted turtles
- Chinese softshell turtles
- Argentine black and white tegus
- Indie rock and Burmese pythons
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