Where is the Argentine black and white tegu legal?

Salvator merianae. Restricted in 5 of the 21 jurisdictions checked. Every entry quotes the rule it comes from.

Alabama: banned for Argentine black and white teguAlaska: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguArizona: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguArkansas: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguCalifornia: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguColorado: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguConnecticut: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguDelaware: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguFlorida: banned for Argentine black and white teguGeorgia: conditions apply for Argentine black and white teguHawaii: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguIdaho: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguIllinois: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguIndiana: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguIowa: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguKansas: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguKentucky: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguLouisiana: banned for Argentine black and white teguMaine: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguMaryland: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguMassachusetts: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguMichigan: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguMinnesota: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguMississippi: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguMissouri: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguMontana: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguNebraska: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguNevada: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguNew Hampshire: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguNew Jersey: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguNew Mexico: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguNew York: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguNorth Carolina: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguNorth Dakota: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguOhio: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguOklahoma: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguOregon: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguPennsylvania: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguRhode Island: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguSouth Carolina: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguSouth Dakota: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguTennessee: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguTexas: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguUtah: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguVermont: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguVirginia: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguWashington: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguWest Virginia: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguWisconsin: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguWyoming: no restriction found for Argentine black and white teguDistrict of Columbia: no restriction found for Argentine black and white tegu

Select a state for the rule behind its colour. Alaska, Hawaii and the District of Columbia are drawn out of position so they can be clicked. The counts include New York City, which has rules separate from the surrounding state and so cannot be shaded on a state map. Listed in full below.

What the colours mean

  • Banned (4)No legal way to keep one, and no permit to apply for.
  • Permit requiredLegal, but you need a permit or licence before the animal arrives.
  • Conditions apply (1)Legal without a permit only if a stated condition is met, such as a generation, a size or an indoor-only rule.
  • UnclearThe rule genuinely does not resolve for this animal. Ask the agency before relying on it.
  • No restriction foundNothing in the body of law we read restricts this animal here.

Choose an animal

ServalFennec foxPrairie dogCapybaraBurmese pythonHedgehogFerretSugar gliderQuaker parakeetBengal catSnapping turtleBoa constrictorDeguArgentine black and white teguNile monitorTiger salamanderBall pythonChinchillaGreen iguanaSavannah monitorTarantulaVeiled chameleonEmperor scorpionGerbilRussian tortoiseHamsterGuinea pigTokay gecko

Every restriction on the Argentine black and white tegu

5 of the 21 jurisdictions checked restrict this animal in some way. The rest had no rule we could find.

Alabama

Banned§ (1)
Any species of Tegus (Salvator sp.);

Banned by genus, so every tegu in the pet trade under the name Salvator is caught, not just the Argentine black and white.

How this rule works: A prohibited list rather than a permitted one, last amended October 2024. Two clauses do most of the work for pet keepers: everything the federal government lists as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act is banned by reference, and a group of species is banned specifically when it comes from outside Alabama.

Ala. Admin. Code r. 220-2-.26, Restrictions On Possession, Sale, Importation And/Or Release Of Certain Animals And Fish →

Florida

Banned
genera Salvator and Tupinambis, all species

Grandfathered personal permit if possessed before 29 April 2021 and applied for by October 2021, for the life of that animal. Commercial breeding ended 30 June 2024.

Existing owners: Personal, non-transferable, no-cost permit if applied for by October 2021, valid for that animal life.

How this rule works: 16 high-risk reptiles added 25 Feb 2021, effective 29 April 2021. Prohibited species may be possessed only by permit for educational exhibition, research or eradication. Tegu and green iguana owners who held one before 29 April 2021 and applied by October 2021 keep a no-cost, non-transferable personal permit for that animal's life.

Florida FWC Prohibited Nonnative Species List (Ch. 68-5, F.A.C.) →

Louisiana

Banned§ 101.K.2.a.ii
The following nonnative reptile and amphibian species are prohibited from importation, possession, sale, attempting to sell, transfer, release, and reproduction in the state... ii. All species in the Genera Salvator and Tupinambis, including the Argentine Black and White Tegu (Salvator merianae);

Existing owners: Owners had 365 days from the effective date of the January 2025 rule to register the animal and obtain a permit. Registered animals may not be bred and no more may be acquired.

How this rule works: Rewritten in January 2025 and now one of the strictest reptile rules in the country. Three tiers: prohibited nonnative species, restricted nonnative species needing a permit, and a general rule that any constrictor over eight feet needs a restricted snake permit.

LAC 76:XV.101, Reptiles and Amphibians, Recreational and Commercial Harvests; Prohibitions →

New York City

Banned
any member of the family Teiidae, including, but not limited to the golden, common, or black and white tegu

How this rule works: § 161.01 is the list of animals that may not be kept in the five boroughs. It binds regardless of what New York State allows, which is why the city and the state answer differently for several species.

New York City Health Code Article 161, Animals (NYC Department of Health official PDF) →

Georgia

Conditions apply
Salvator merianae (Argentine black-and-white tegu)

Reptiles on the list are limited to scientific, educational or public exhibition purposes, but may be held as pets if possessed before the rule's effective date.

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 391-4-8-.05, Wild Animals, License Required →

For the full write-up, including the states that get reported wrongly, read the Argentine black and white tegu legal guide.

Past the legal question? See the Argentine black and white tegu profile.

How to read this

A state with no colour is one where nothing in the law we read restricts that animal. That is not the same as a guarantee: it means no restriction was found in the specific body of law checked for that state, which is recorded alongside each jurisdiction. Cities and counties regularly ban animals their state allows, and several states say so in their own rules.

Hatched grey means the rule genuinely does not resolve. Usually a definition arguably reaches the animal without naming it, and the honest answer is to ask the agency rather than to guess. Those entries are marked unclear on purpose rather than being rounded to a yes or a no.

Every entry links to the regulation it came from. None of this is legal advice, laws change without much notice, and the agency that issues the permit is always the last word. For the federal layer and how state schemes are structured, see the exotic pet legal hub.