Keeping venomous snakes as pets

Venomous snakes can be very dangerous.

You need a permit to keep any venomous snake in the Northern Territory (NT). 

The category of the permit depends on the level of danger attached to a species. 

There are three permit categories for keeping venomous snakes:

1. Category 1 – mildly dangerous venomous.
2. Category 2 – dangerous venomous.
3. Category 3 – highly dangerous venomous.

When you apply for a permit to keep a venomous snake, you need to consider all of the following:

• your property will be inspected by Parks and Wildlife staff to see if it is suitable for a venomous snake
• you may need approvals from your local council, the Department of Health or the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment
• you must get your snake from a legal source that has a permit
• your permit does not let you remove snakes from the wild
• allow five days to process a Category 1 permit
• allow two weeks to process a Category 2 and 3 permit.

If you want to import or export a snake you will need a separate permit.

Snakes you can't keep 

For medical reasons you can't get a permit to keep any of the following snake families in the NT:

• copperhead snakes
• broad-headed snakes
• tiger snakes
• rough-scaled snake
• eastern small-eyed snake.

Exotic snakes, venomous or non-venomous, can't be kept by private permit holders in the NT.