Can You Own an Iguana in Maine? What State Law Actually Requires

If you are wondering whether you can own an iguana in Maine, the short answer is yes, but only with a state permit in hand first. Maine treats these lizards as restricted wildlife rather than an ordinary pet-store animal, which means the paperwork comes before the terrarium.

Understanding how Maine classifies iguanas, what a permit application actually involves, and how local towns can add their own rules will save you from an expensive mistake. Below is what the state’s wildlife statutes, permit categories, and enforcement records show about keeping this tropical reptile north of the Piscataqua River.

Is It Legal to Own an Iguana in Maine

Owning an iguana in Maine is legal, but only under the state’s tiered wildlife possession system. Maine sorts exotic animals into categories that determine whether you need a permit, and owning the wrong species without one can mean serious fines or criminal charges. Maine divides exotic animals into three categories — unrestricted, restricted, and prohibited — and you need a permit from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) before you can legally keep any restricted species.

The green iguana (Iguana iguana) falls into the middle tier. Category 2 covers animals that need specialized housing or care but don’t pose the same level of public safety threat, and examples include binturongs, genets, coatimundis, larger monitor lizards, rhinoceros iguanas, green iguanas, olive pythons, and certain tortoises and turtles like African spurred tortoises and alligator snapping turtles. The rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta), one of several different types of iguanas kept in captivity, shares that same classification alongside its more common green relative.

Under Maine’s core statute, “a person may not import wildlife into or possess wildlife in the State… without a permit” issued by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) — except for species on the state’s unregulated list. Since iguanas do not appear on that unregulated list, skipping the permit step is not an option, regardless of how the animal was acquired.

Pro Tip: Apply for your Category 2 permit before you buy an iguana, not after. Maine IF&W reviews housing and care plans as part of the application, and bringing an unpermitted animal into the state first only complicates the process.

Is the Iguana Considered an Invasive Species in Maine

Green iguanas carry a very different reputation a thousand miles south. Green iguanas are not native to Florida and are considered an invasive species due to their impacts to native wildlife. They are not native to Florida but were introduced to the Sunshine State in the 1960s, and populations there have since spread through backyards, canals, and coastal landscaping statewide.

Maine’s climate tells a different story. The northern extent of their Florida distribution is limited by cold temperatures, and further north the math gets even less forgiving for a tropical lizard. The cold-blooded lizards start to get sluggish when temperatures fall below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, a threshold Maine crosses for most of the year outside a brief summer window.

That biology explains why Maine does not treat the iguana as an established invasive species within its borders the way Florida does. Maine’s prohibited list is comparatively short and targets species with high invasive potential, and the green iguana is not on it. Instead, it sits in the restricted category, a designation aimed at controlling escapes and irresponsible releases rather than an existing wild population.

Important Note: Being restricted in Maine is not the same as being invasive there. The permit requirement exists to prevent escapes and improper care, not because iguanas are reproducing in Maine’s woods the way they do in South Florida.

Permits and Registration Requirements in Maine

Getting an iguana permit means working through Maine’s Category 2 application process with IF&W. Category 1 Restricted Species covering endangered or threatened animals, or those posing human risk, carry a $250 application plus a $27 permit fee, while Category 2 Restricted Species, which covers animals requiring special housing, run a $100 application plus a $27 permit fee.

Permit Category	Typical Species	Application Fee	Permit Fee
Category 1	Higher-risk or endangered/threatened exotics	$250	$27
Category 2	Green iguanas, rhinoceros iguanas, monitor lizards, olive pythons	$100	$27

Application fees range from $27 to $250 depending on the permit type, and allowing a restricted animal to escape is a criminal offense carrying up to six months in jail, so the paperwork stakes are higher than a simple licensing fee. Beyond mammals and reptiles, Maine’s exotic pet system extends to birds of prey too: the only permit that the state offers outside this framework is a special falconry permit, which governs species like the hawks and owls used in that sport.

Local City or County Restrictions in Maine

A state permit does not automatically clear every hurdle. Municipalities may further restrict exotic pets under 30-A § 3001 home-rule authority, and some Maine cities ban venomous reptiles and large constrictors outright. An iguana permit approved by IF&W could still run into a local ordinance that limits reptile ownership within town limits.

Maine’s own wildlife agency flags this gap directly. Some towns may have municipal ordinances which prohibit certain invertebrates such as scorpions, tarantulas or other venomous spiders, or which further regulate the keeping of animals which the Department otherwise allows, so it is worth checking with your city or town to comply with both state and local laws. This layered approach is not unique to reptiles either; Maine’s leash laws for dogs also vary by municipality on top of statewide baseline rules, so calling your town office before bringing home any regulated animal is standard practice statewide.

Can You Own Other Reptile Species Alongside an Iguana in Maine

Keeping additional reptiles alongside a permitted iguana is possible, but the rules differ depending on whether the animal is native or exotic. For native wildlife, native wild-caught reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates not threatened, endangered, or of special concern are legal for personal use without a permit at limits of five per species of amphibians and two per species of reptiles, and unlimited invertebrates, as long as they are kept separate from non-native animals. That means a small collection of native snakes or frog species housed separately from your iguana would not require additional paperwork.

Other exotic reptiles fall under the same Category 2 framework as the green iguana. Maine allows certain captive-bred animals to be kept as pets, so long as you have a permit, including rock monitors, Argus monitors, crocodile monitors, common water monitors, olive pythons, rosy and rubber boas, and various tortoises and turtles. Each additional restricted species generally requires its own permit application and fee, so a multi-reptile household adds up in both paperwork and cost. Anyone weighing exotic mammals in the same household should note that comparable restrictions apply elsewhere too, such as the permit rules covering raccoon ownership in the state.

Penalties for Illegal Iguana Ownership in Maine

Skipping the permit process carries real financial and legal consequences. Penalties for violations incur fines that range from $100 to $500, and three or more such violations are considered to be a Class E criminal offense. That escalation clause means a first-time paperwork lapse and a pattern of repeated noncompliance are treated very differently under Maine law.

Escapes trigger their own penalty structure separate from the base possession violation. Allowing exotic animals to escape is a Class E crime if the person has a permit but fails to report the escape, or if the person does not have a permit and reports the escape, while it becomes a Class D crime if the person does not have a permit and does not report the escape.

Violation Type	Consequence
Possessing an iguana without a permit (single instance)	Fine of $100–$500
Three or more possession violations	Class E criminal offense
Escape, permitted owner, unreported	Class E crime
Escape, unpermitted owner, unreported	Class D crime

Common Mistake: Owners sometimes assume an escaped pet only becomes a legal problem if it causes damage. Under Maine’s framework, failing to report the escape itself is what upgrades the offense, independent of any harm the animal causes.

Given the up to six-month jail exposure tied to escape violations, treating the permit application as a formality rather than a legal requirement is a costly gamble. Before purchasing an iguana or accepting one from a friend who can no longer keep it, contacting Maine IF&W directly remains the safest first step toward compliant ownership.