i checked the state laws here in md and based on wether or not they are endangered threatened thriving etc you can own up to five reptiles from list A (the most commonly found), this is geared toward hobbyists and definitely not toward businesses.

I'm sure there are permits that enable you to deal with native species, but most petstores probaly don't bother with it, not a whole lot of money, what I meant, was that many of them are usualy used to keep a person from making a small business out of capturing wild snakes and selling them "out the back door" so to say.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

Yeah, it depends on the species, but you can usually keep the more common ones. I think you're limited to one or two eastern box turtles though.

I've seen and caught a lot of native MD herps. Eastern box turtles, spring peepers, eastern painted turtles, common snapping turtles, black rat snakes, eastern garter snakes, worm snakes, and other frogs, toads, skinks, and salamanders. There's a lot more diversity in MD than what I was used to from ND.

Most of the snakes will do ok in captivity. About the only thing I'd say would be a real challenge would be snapping turtles, skinks, and the salamanders. You also have to consider that almost anything wild caught is going to harbor internal parasites of some kind.

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Personally I feel like anything from the wild should stay in the wild, and the ONLY thing that should be in captivity are captive bred animals. We have enough diversity in the captive world now to accomplish this.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Could not of said it better myself. Mike if you really want to own a native species, You can occasionally find CB Black Rat Snakes for sale, usualy out of state though. Its worth the expense anyway, yeah sure it does not seem like taking one or two snakes out of the wild would hurt, but if everyone decided to do that?...

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

well the area is slated for development as a community center soon, so catch and release of a few snakes is only delaying the inevitable. If I know more about the local snake populations, or was a real herpetologist I might catch and release some of these soon to be homeless snakes somewhere else. but for know i'd just like to see a few of my neighbors up close. been walking those woods for years now and have never seen a snake, i would love to know how/where to find them. kinda like opening up a new world for me.
mike

most snakes like to hide under rocks, so looking in rocky areas and turning over rocks is your best bet.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

All good information, however I do suggest you go to the Maryland DNR site and review (print) the laws referring "Native Species". The DNR applies heavy fines if you are caught breaking their laws. The DNR people come to the reptile shows and canvas each table to see what we have and do make unannounced home visits as well. You can get a free subscription to the DNR magazine as well. It touches on all of the Marylands ecosysten and its inhabitants. You do need a license ($25.00 ea type) to breed native species.

well i'm not gonna get that deep into it, i have been to the mdnr web page and read the rules regarding native species, never would sell or breed. mostly I just want to see what's out there. and maybe just maybe if I came across a young hognose.......

I too, am from Maryland and do a lot of herping in Gunpowder State Park. I've found ten species of snake there and I suspect there are probably a few more. It's a great place to search. If anyone from Harford Co. reads this, I'd love some hints on where I might find a smooth earth snake and an eastern king snake.