David Dixon Jolly, 72, pleaded guilty before Magistrate John Hodges in Maroochydore Magistrates Court to 62 charges.
Mr Jolly disregarded conditions of his wildlife permit, which required him to release captured snakes into a suitable habitat as close to the place of capture as possible, and instead kept the animals or gave them to a third party to release.
Acting Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Annastacia Palazczuk said an investigation was carried out after members of the public complained about YouTube clips showing two of Mr Jolly's associates capturing and releasing snakes on the Sunshine Coast.
"Registered wildlife handlers with licences to capture or rehabilitate injured wildlife have a fundamental responsibility to care for native wildlife in their care and to abide by the highest standards of their industry," Ms Palazczuk said.
"There is simply no room for them to neglect or disregard the condition of their permits, as a high level of trust goes with authorising people to undertake these roles.
"Violating permit conditions, deliberately or inadvertently, can have negative consequences for the survival and health of Queensland's native wildlife.
"For example, illegally removing animals from the wild or not returning them to their natural habitat close to their place of capture can result in local extinction."
Mr Jolly was found in possession of 48 snakes at his Currimundi residence on 5 February 2009 with an audit revealing significant breaches of reporting and paperwork obligations.
He was charged for multiple breaches of the Nature Conservation Act 1992, the Nature Conservation (Administration) Regulation 2006 and Nature Conservation (Wildlife Management) Regulation 2006.
The offences included keeping snakes captured from the wild without the appropriate permit - such as the carpet pythons, rough-scaled snakes and whip snakes - and illegally purchasing three woma pythons, a vulnerable species that Mr Jolly did not have permits to keep.
Mr Jolly also failed to keep and submit records of the snakes he sold and bought.
"Queensland has strict laws for keeping native wildlife to minimise the possibility of inadvertently or deliberately supplying the black market," Ms Palazczuk said.
"Reptiles and amphibians are commercially attractive animals, and failing to keep the law can result in market access to species that are difficult to obtain through lawful means, potentially encouraging others to illegally obtain these creatures."
"Failing to lodge the current paperwork can result in illegally taken animals being laundered into the licensing system by being recorded as 'offspring' of licensed wildlife by unscrupulous dealers."
Ms Palazczuk said native wildlife that was in its natural habitat contributed to the health of ecosystems.
"Our wildlife is not there for exploitation by individuals for personal gain," Ms Palazczuk said.
"The Department of Environment and Resource Management's officers monitor the activities of permit holders, and anyone found in breach of the conditions will face full enforcement action."
No conviction was recorded.
