Can you have a snake as a pet in NYC?
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Lions and tigers and bears… and snakes, oh my!
Snake sightings in New York City have seemingly increased this summer. A 3-foot-long snake was discovered in the first-floor lobby of a Manhattan rehab center on July 25, according to the NYPD.
There were at least four snake sightings alone in June. A 5-foot-long boa constrictor was seen in the Upper West Side on June 5.
Two days later, a python was spotted wriggling up the sidewalk in Manhattan on June 7. A snake slithered out from underneath a seat in a rented U-Haul van in Lower Manhattan the weekend before, according to authorities.
A man was bitten by a snake that found its way into his bathtub in Brooklyn on June 19.
These sightings beg the question – are you allowed to own a snake as a pet in the Big Apple?
It depends on what type of snake, according to 311. Some snakes that aren't allowed as pets include vipers, cobras, pythons and anacondas.
The families of snakes banned in New York City are Viperidae, Elapidae, Atractaspididae, Hydrophiidae, Laticaudidae, Boidae and Pythonidae. All venomous members of the family Colubridae are also prohibited.
For more on what snakes are illegal to own, click here.
Snakes outside the banned list include corn snakes, garter snakes and milk snakes.
The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will only respond to calls about snakes if they're venomous or a constrictor, according to 311.
If you own any snake banned in New York City, you can drop them off at any Animal Care Centers of NYC. You won't get in trouble for dropping off an illegal pet, per 311.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.