Where is the Burmese python legal?

Any species of bird, mammal, fish, crustacea, mollusk, reptile, or amphibian listed as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42) from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;

Alabama does not name the species itself. It adopts the federal injurious wildlife list, which has included Python bivittatus since 2012, so the federal listing does the work.

How this rule works: A prohibited list rather than a permitted one, last amended October 2024. Two clauses do most of the work for pet keepers: everything the federal government lists as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act is banned by reference, and a group of species is banned specifically when it comes from outside Alabama.

Python molurus

Grandfathered for personal use by reptile of concern licence holders before 1 July 2010, for the life of the animal.

Existing owners: Personal use by reptile of concern licence holders, for the life of the animal.

How this rule works: 16 high-risk reptiles added 25 Feb 2021, effective 29 April 2021. Prohibited species may be possessed only by permit for educational exhibition, research or eradication. Tegu and green iguana owners who held one before 29 April 2021 and applied by October 2021 keep a no-cost, non-transferable personal permit for that animal's life.

vii. Burmese Python (Python bivittatus);

Existing owners: Registration within 365 days of the rule taking effect, no breeding, no further acquisition.

How this rule works: Rewritten in January 2025 and now one of the strictest reptile rules in the country. Three tiers: prohibited nonnative species, restricted nonnative species needing a permit, and a general rule that any constrictor over eight feet needs a restricted snake permit.

Indian python (including the Burmese python) – Python molurus;

Named in the parenthesis, so there is no argument about the split of Python molurus and Python bivittatus. The reticulated python, African rock python, amethystine python and green anaconda are prohibited alongside it.

How this rule works: 12.6.2205 is the noncontrolled list, 12.6.2208 the controlled list, 12.6.2215 the prohibited list. The noncontrolled definition at 12.6.2201(8) expressly preserves county and city ordinances.

Burmese Python (Python m. bivittatus)

How this rule works: A closed definition: 'includes and is limited to' nonhuman primates and prosimians, Felidae and hybrids, Canidae, Ursidae, venomous reptiles plus named large pythons and monitors, and Crocodylia. § 11-0512 then bars possessing a wild animal as a pet, grandfathering animals held when the section took effect if licensed within six months.

An importation/possession permit shall not be issued for importation or possession of the live cold-blooded wildlife in this section... (a) Injurious wildlife listed in 50 CFR § 16.

Adopted from the federal injurious list, which has covered Python bivittatus since 2012. The reticulated python and the green anaconda arrive by the same route.

How this rule works: Section 10(a)(i) is the sentence that matters for reptile keepers: amphibians and reptiles not listed in Section 8 or 9 need no permit at all.

A restricted snake, so it needs a permit rather than being outright banned.

How this rule works: Two enumerated lists. Dangerous wild animals need an Ohio Department of Agriculture wildlife shelter permit; anything on neither list needs no state permit. Restricted snakes are constrictors of 12 feet or more plus venomous families.

except those which are biologically capable of establishing self-sustaining populations in the wild of Oklahoma and which may be potentially injurious or detrimental to Oklahoma's wildlife, agriculture or public safety in accordance with existing USDI or APHIS regulations

The exemption turns on the federal injurious wildlife listing, which covers Python bivittatus. Losing the exemption means permits and a breeder's licence apply, not that the animal is banned.

How this rule works: Navigate to Title 800, Chapter 25, Subchapter 25, Section 800:25-25-3. One of the most permissive exemption lists in the country, and one of the very few that names the fennec fox individually. Note what the exemptions are from: permits and breeder licences, not a ban. An unexempt animal is licensable, not prohibited.

any deadly, dangerous, or poisonous reptile, or any deadly or dangerous reptile over eight feet long, in any place other than a properly maintained zoological park, circus, scientific, or educational institution, research laboratory, veterinary hospital, or animal refuge, unless he or she has registered such animals with the local law enforcement agency in the county in which the animal is kept

Not banned, but an adult Burmese python comfortably passes eight feet, at which point it must be registered with the county law enforcement agency. There is no state permit and no fee, just the registration.

How this rule works: Missouri does not ban these animals. It requires that they be registered with the local law enforcement agency in the county where they are kept. Failure to register is the offence.

non-venomous or non-dangerous reptiles and amphibians

Non-dangerous is not defined anywhere in the rule. A Burmese python is non-venomous, which on the literal wording is enough, but a giant constrictor is exactly the animal the qualifier appears aimed at. Ask Idaho Fish and Game before relying on this.

How this rule works: Section 010.06 defines conventional pets, which sit outside the wildlife permit regime. Unusually explicit: it names ferrets, hedgehogs and sugar gliders in the rule text.

(E) Constrictor snakes greater than six feet, and venomous snakes;

An adult Burmese python is well over six feet, so it falls inside the category the board was told to consider.

How this rule works: Unusual structure, and the reason most entries here are unclear. § 19-34-4 bans possession of a dangerous wild animal, but § 19-34-2 defines the term by character rather than by species and § 19-34-5 directs a three member board to create the actual list by legislative rule. The statute itself names no animal. Until that list is confirmed in force, the ban has no species attached to it.