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Explore the world of reptiles — cold-blooded, scaly vertebrates including snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodilians, and the tuatara, found across deserts, rainforests, and oceans worldwide.
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New Mexico’s high desert isn’t the first place people picture when they think of turtles, but the state is home to native species ranging from desert-dwelling box turtles to river-loving softshells.
Washington treats a garter snake sunning itself on your patio and a rattlesnake coiled near your woodpile under remarkably similar legal protections.
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.
Ball pythons, carpet pythons, and other constrictors sit near the top of the reptile hobby’s most-kept species, and Georgia has one of the larger reptile-keeping communities in the Southeast.
You might spot an alligator sunning itself along a blackwater river while paddling through the coastal plain, and wondering whether you could keep one yourself is a fair question.
North Dakota might be the last place you’d expect to find a legal pathway to alligator ownership, but the state’s regulatory framework says otherwise.
Minnesota law treats the garter snake in your garden the same way it treats a threatened timber rattlesnake in the bluffs: as a protected wild animal.
Every spring, New York’s environmental agency all but pleads with residents not to bring home the box turtle crossing a hiking trail or the snapping turtle nesting near a backyard pond.
Can you own a turtle in Massachusetts without breaking any laws? For most common pet species, yes — the state actually lets a single household keep up to 100 turtles of most species without any permit at all.
If you’re eyeing a green iguana for your reptile collection, the good news is that New Hampshire’s wildlife rules are friendlier to exotic lizard owners than you might expect.
If you find a snake curled up under your porch this summer, your first instinct might be to grab a shovel or call the first pest control number you can find.
Montana names three python species in its prohibited wildlife list, which means the honest answer to “can you own a python in Montana” depends entirely on which species sits in your terrarium.
A television segment showing an alligator visiting the West Virginia State Capitol has convinced plenty of residents that gator ownership is a simple, permit-free hobby in the Mountain State.
If you keep a ball python in a Chicago apartment or a Burmese python breeder ships you a hatchling from Florida, you are dealing with two completely different sets of rules.
Nearly every snake species native to Indiana carries some form of legal protection, which means the “just kill it or move it” instinct can land you in more trouble than the snake itself ever posed.
If you’re thinking about bringing home a green iguana, you might expect a straightforward yes-or-no answer about whether it’s allowed.
If you’re wondering whether you can own a turtle in Kansas, the short answer is yes—but which species, how many, and where you got it all matter under state law.
Idaho has a reputation as one of the more relaxed states for exotic pet ownership, and that reputation holds true for pythons in many cases.
If you spotted a small turtle crossing your driveway near the Missouri River or you’re eyeing a red-eared slider at a local pet store, you’re probably asking the same question
Can you own a python in Oklahoma? For most pet-trade species, the answer is yes — but that answer shifts fast once you’re talking about Burmese pythons, African pythons, or any constrictor large enough to raise ecological red flags.
