# Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis)



## ronnyjodes (Apr 29, 2011)

Are these DWA? I've searched on here and elsewhere and can't seem to get a clear answer. Their venom isn't strong enough to harm adults but the DWA snake list I've read online states that all Australian venomous snakes require a DWA licence. Can anybody shed any more light on this please?


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## coldestblood (Jun 4, 2011)

None dwa. Came off the list about 5yrs ago.

Don't buy into the 'not dangerous to humans', as thats not the case. They were on the dwa list for a reason, so if you choose to get one, make sure you to treat it as if it were dwa.


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## ronnyjodes (Apr 29, 2011)

coldestblood said:


> None dwa. Came off the list about 5yrs ago.
> 
> Don't buy into the 'not dangerous to humans', as thats not the case. They were on the dwa list for a reason, so if you choose to get one, make sure you to treat it as if it were dwa.


Oh of course, it deserves respect how ever venomous the internet populous may deem it to be, I was just generalising with that statement tbh. 

I think they're a gorgeous snake and they're definately on my wish list. Are they difficult to come by? I don't think I've ever seen one offered up for sale.


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## coldestblood (Jun 4, 2011)

ronnyjodes said:


> Oh of course, it deserves respect how ever venomous the internet populous may deem it to be, I was just generalising with that statement tbh.
> 
> I think they're a gorgeous snake and they're definately on my wish list. Are they difficult to come by? I don't think I've ever seen one offered up for sale.


There does appear to be more boiga's available these days, but to honest, I have no idea.


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

ronnyjodes said:


> Oh of course, it deserves respect how ever venomous the internet populous may deem it to be, I was just generalising with that statement tbh.
> 
> I think they're a gorgeous snake and they're definately on my wish list. Are they difficult to come by? I don't think I've ever seen one offered up for sale.


I can't seem to find many boiga tbh... B.d.dendrophila and B.cyanea seem to be the easiest to come by, do a search for irregularis in the classifieds to get an idea of how often they come up, and start asking around reptile shops!


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

If not in England, I'm sure you'd be able to pick up one from Hamm without too much difficulty.


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

nsn89 said:


> If not in England, I'm sure you'd be able to pick up one from Hamm without too much difficulty.


Hopefully later in the year, our local shop went over to Hamm and Houten and said they'd look for boiga for us, but they said there was hardly anything there generally, no boiga that they saw.


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Depends what species you're looking for.

I know there are dendrophila being sold for the upcoming shows.


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## adamanteus (Apr 15, 2012)

becky89 said:


> Hopefully later in the year, our local shop went over to Hamm and Houten and said they'd look for boiga for us, but they said there was hardly anything there generally, no boiga that they saw.


 
Its a case of knowing where to look and who to ask but various other Boiga are available


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## nsn89 (Jun 11, 2011)

Look on here for venomous snakes being sold: http://www.terraristik-anzeigen.de/

Click 'Anzeigen', then in the drop down box where it says 'In Allen' select 'Schlangen giftig' and it will show all the venomous species being sold.

Or you can search in 'suchtext' for boiga. 

It has the contact details for the sellers..there are a few boiga species being sold.


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## STReptiles (Feb 6, 2009)

Been trying to get hold of these for agess, nightmare!


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

coldestblood said:


> None dwa. Came off the list about 5yrs ago.
> 
> Don't buy into the 'not dangerous to humans', as thats not the case. They were on the dwa list for a reason, so if you choose to get one, make sure you to treat it as if it were dwa.


They were never on the DWA, the only Boiga species on the DWA was dendrophila.


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## coldestblood (Jun 4, 2011)

ian14 said:


> They were never on the DWA, the only Boiga species on the DWA was dendrophila.


Ooops. My mistake. Saw the word Boiga, and assumed the op was talking about mangroves.


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/shop-classifieds/837946-coming-snakesnadders-sheffield.html :2thumb:

I'd get a bit more excited about this list but have no money so there's no point.
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/shop-classifieds/837946-coming-snakesnadders-sheffield.html


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## ronnyjodes (Apr 29, 2011)

ian14 said:


> They were never on the DWA, the only Boiga species on the DWA was dendrophila.


 No mate, wanted something a bit more obtuse than a mangrove lol


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## ronnyjodes (Apr 29, 2011)

becky89 said:


> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/shop-classifieds/837946-coming-snakesnadders-sheffield.html :2thumb:
> 
> I'd get a bit more excited about this list but have no money so there's no point.


 Cheers for that . That's not a bad price either at 79.99. There's some pretty awesome stuff on there but most of it's well out of my price range too!


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## Elapidae (Jul 7, 2010)

A thread on how hard something is to find then a price tag of 79.99, LOL

Cheapest I could find advertised in Australia right now was $250, and here in Western Australia I can't even legally keep them.



ronnyjodes said:


> Are these DWA? I've searched on here and elsewhere and can't seem to get a clear answer. Their venom isn't strong enough to harm adults but the DWA snake list I've read online states that all Australian venomous snakes require a DWA licence. Can anybody shed any more light on this please?


We don't call it DWA and a venomous license isn't required for B. irregularis in the Australian states Where B. irregularis can legally be kept.
Each state has different laws on keeping venomous snakes, for example Victoria has no special license requirements, basically you pay your fee and you can keep them, while WA is so strict that there are currently only about 15 people licensed to keep Elapids, that being said DWA in England is still much harder to obtain than here in WA.


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## ronnyjodes (Apr 29, 2011)

Elapidae said:


> A thread on how hard something is to find then a price tag of 79.99, LOL
> 
> Cheapest I could find advertised in Australia right now was $250, and here in Western Australia I can't even legally keep them.


I know, I was pretty stunned by the 79.99 price too haha. It'd be rude not to get one with a price like that.



Elapidae said:


> We don't call it DWA and a venomous license isn't required for B. irregularis in the Australian states Where B. irregularis can legally be kept.
> Each state has different laws on keeping venomous snakes, for example Victoria has no special license requirements, basically you pay your fee and you can keep them, while WA is so strict that there are currently only about 15 people licensed to keep Elapids, that being said DWA in England is still much harder to obtain than here in WA.


That's pretty interesting, I don't know too much about Australia venomous laws if I'm honest. What are the fees like over there? 

The reason I started the thread is, on the DWA list I saw anyway, it said " any Australian venomous species" are DWA. It was pretty much words to the effect of "if it's from Austrlia it will try and kill you and we don't want you having one" but seeing as mangroves aren't on there any more I figured it'd be worth checking. I'm glad I did now :2thumb:


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## Elapidae (Jul 7, 2010)

In Western Australia it's about $500 P.A. I'm not sure about the other states.
I volunteer as a reptile remover/relocator which allows me to interact with venomous and keep short term depending on circumstances.
This allows me to deal with hots without the fee's and strict keeping requirements, and of course I have a whole country full of field herping opportunity.

Although venomous they generally get categorised with non venomous which often causes confusion.
I know of no cases where Boiga irregularis has caused a medically significant bite to a human.
You may find it interesting that there are also a number of Elapids in australia that are unable to inflict a significant bite despite being venomous. I'm also fairly sure that these are on your DWA list and while I stated in one of my very first threads on this forum that it was unlikely people would keep them I was told they were in fact over there.

If you end up purchasing try and get hold of the Night Tiger form which are more contrasting in pattern than the standard.

"if it's from Austrlia it will try and kill you and we don't want you having one" This is a prevailing attitude both abroad and here. It really irks me because it feeds the widespread misconception that all our snakes are out to bite and kill you which is so far from the truth and the reason why people still reach for the shovel rather than the phone.


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

A quick trip to Guam is in order:

BBC News - Battling the brown tree snake in Guam

Im sure a few could be sold!


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