Quiet neighborhoods in Plantation, Boca Raton and other cities may not seem like a natural home for king cobras, eyelash vipers and black mambas.

But 257 individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations hold state permits to keep them, the majority at private residences. Now, after two cobras escaped last year from houses in Orlando and suburban Fort Myers, the state wildlife commission is considering tightening the rules on who can own venomous snakes.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is considering restrictions ranging from an outright ban on owning non-native venomous snakes to stricter rules on caging and handling. Current owners would be allowed to keep their snakes.

Wildlife commission spokesman Robert Klepper said the commission “promotes responsible ownership of captive wildlife” for “educational, exhibition or personal purposes. Any changes that are proposed would have those goals in mind. Florida’s captive wildlife regulations are among the most stringent in the nation.”

The state requires at least 1,000 hours of experience with the type of snakes the applicant wants to acquire. Among those who went through the permitting process was Suzi Davis, who keeps about 100 snakes, both venomous and non-venomous, at her home in Coral Springs.

“I could look at them for hours,” she said. “Venomous snakes are much more of a challenge. You have to be able to take care of it without being able to handle it. A lot of them require much more care than your average ball python.”

She keeps small African vipers of the family Atheris squamigera and a few others, and is currently caring for 20 young snakes she refers to as “babies,” which hatch “thinner than a pencil.”

None of her snakes have bitten anyone or escaped, she said. Although she thinks the state should still allow the personal ownership of such snakes, she said improvement in the rules could be made, such as surprise inspections to make sure they’re being kept securely.

“I have kids. I would never forgive myself if something happened,” she said. “So I have the best cages I can buy.”

Last year, an Asian monocled cobra escaped from its home in Buckingham, just outside Fort Myers. The owner was cited for keeping the snake in unsafe housing, providing false records to investigators and failing to report its escape. And in Orlando, an 8-foot monocled cobra escaped from its home. Its owner was also cited for wildlife violations.

The wildlife commission asked the public to submit written comments on proposed restrictions. Some of the people who responded were surprised to learn it was even possible to own a venomous snake and questioned the wisdom of allowing such reptiles to be kept in residential neighborhoods. Several noted the number of non-native species that escaped into the wild, disrupting the environment, such as Burmese pythons in the Everglades and lionfish in coastal waters, and wondered why the state should risk adding to the list.

“Have we not learned our lessons with the take over of the Everglades by constrictors?” asked Christopher Priest of St. Petersburg. “What about the various non-native lizards that are overrunning South Florida? It is time to put an end to private ownership of these animals or are we going to wait until the only competition pythons have is from cobras in this state?”

Mike Keller, of Tampa, wrote, “As evidenced by current problems (pythons, tegus, lion fish etc) it only takes a few incompetent pet owners to have a disastrous impact on natural Florida. No matter how stringent the laws are made, there will always be those who ignore them. I implore you to be as restrictive as possible to curtail future releases.”

Others defended their ownership as a harmless hobby, an exercise in personal freedom that could yield educational benefits.

Francis Edward Cassano, of Clermont, a town west of Orlando, said he has owned up to 50 venomous snakes and never had an escape. He said the state should simply require double-containment — locked enclosures in a locked room. Unreasonably strict rules or a ban on private ownership, he said, would simply drive the hobby underground.

“These laws are being put in place due to public fear generated over the escape of two cobras which harmed no one and were recovered,” he wrote. “… Why do I NEED to keep a cobra? For the same reason that people have horses, dogs, guns or boats, which every year by the way kill and injure far people than snakes. FREEDOM-freedom to pursue my right to happiness. Who decides what you or I need?”

The United States Association of Reptile Keepers, which fights attempts to restrict ownership, sent a message to members urging them to make their views known to the state.

“The requirements needed to keep venomous snakes in Florida are beyond stringent,” the group said. “And now, following the escape of two snakes by irresponsible keepers who did not have appropriate caging or secondary containment … the entirety of the venomous keeping community is being punished.”

The commission’s staff is going through public comments and working with an outside group of stakeholders, including biologists, snake owners and dealers. A proposal is expected to go in September to the commission, a seven-member board appointed by Gov. Rick Scott.

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