State wildlife commission seeks tougher rules for owning pet snakes.

Byline: David Fleshler

Dec. 22--With giant snakes battling alligators in the Everglades, the state wildlife commission has proposed sharp restrictions on the owners of Burmese pythons and four other non-native reptiles, including a requirement to implant their slithery pets with computer identification chips. Florida's hot and wet climate has made the state a congenial home for species from Africa, Asia and South America let loose by their owners after they become too big or too high maintenance. A breeding population of Burmese pythons has been discovered in Everglades National Park, where the constrictors have been killing native birds, mammals and, in one notorious incident, an alligator. Elsewhere in the state, trappers routinely catch pythons and other large non-native snakes.

The new rules would limit sales of constricting snakes…