The importation of exotic animals into the State should be banned, a Labour Party TD has said.
Mary Upton said that the discovery of a number of snakes in Dublin recently was "only the beginning of a potential time-bomb".
"The numbers of such animals are not known because there is no register and there is no need to license them. Your friendly puppy must be licensed, but there is no such requirement to declare if you have a tiger cub," Ms Upton said.
"It is something of a fashion statement to have an exotic animal, but there is no parallel need to be responsible for such an animal. What happens when the cuddly cub grows up or the baby snake stretches to 10 feet long?"
As well as cruelty to the animals, Ms Upton said there was a risk of danger to the public. Another potential problem was the arrival into the State of unusual animal diseases which could harm both humans and native animals.
This had happened in Australia, for instance, where non-native toads had been imported to counter locals "pests" such as the cane beetle, but where the toad was now a major threat to the local wildlife.
"It is time for the various departments, Agriculture, Environment and Justice, to get their act together and ban the importation of such potentially dangerous animals whose behaviour patterns are untested outside their own habitat," she said.
The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) said last week that it had rescued 10 snakes in the Dublin area in recent weeks.
The reptiles, which varied in size from 12cm (5in) to 2m (6.6ft), were said not to be poisonous, but some were potentially aggressive.