Exotic Pet Laws in Texas: What Is Banned

Burmese pythonPermit required

Parks & Wild. Code § 43.851(a)(2)(C); 31 TAC §§ 55.651(2), 55.652(a)(1)

Python bivittatus is named in the statute and again in the rule, so a Texas keeper needs a recreational controlled exotic snake permit, renewed annually and running 1 September to 31 August. It is a permit rather than a ban, which separates Texas from the states that prohibit the species outright. Two practical details: 31 TAC § 55.653(c) makes the sales receipt a temporary permit for 21 days from the date of sale, so a buyer is not immediately in violation, and Parks & Wild. Code § 43.856(b) makes releasing one a Class A misdemeanor rather than the Class C that covers permit offences. The species was added by name in 2021 by H.B. 2326; before that it had to be read into "Asiatic rock python, Python molurus", which is the parent species it was split from.

How this rule works: Texas regulates six constrictors by name and every nonvenomous snake beyond them not at all. The list is in the statute at § 43.851(a)(2) and repeated in the rule at 31 TAC § 55.651(2): African rock python, Asiatic rock python, Burmese python, green anaconda, reticulated python, southern African python, plus any hybrid, plus all venomous snakes not indigenous to Texas. H.B. 2326 in 2021 added Python bivittatus by name, after the Burmese was split off from Python molurus and the older wording left it arguable. A recreational permit is available to private keepers under 31 TAC § 55.652(a)(1), which is what separates this from a ban, and § 55.653(c) makes the sales receipt a temporary permit for 21 days from purchase.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 43.851 and 31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 55.651-55.653, Controlled Exotic Snakes →Burmese python in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

ServalPermit required

§ 822.101(4)(J); §§ 822.103, 822.107

Named at clause (J), between the lynx and the caracal. Two things about the Texas certificate are unusual. It is issued by the local animal control office, or by the county sheriff where there is none, rather than by a state agency, so the answer is administered county by county and § 822.116(b) lets any of those counties prohibit the animal outright instead. And § 822.107 requires liability insurance of at least $100,000 for each occurrence, the highest insurance figure on this map. § 822.113 makes possession without the certificate a Class C misdemeanor per animal per day, and § 822.114 adds a civil penalty of up to $2,000 on the same per-animal, per-day basis.

Cities and counties here can prohibit what state law permits, so check your local ordinance too.

How this rule works: The statute everyone cites for Texas, and the one that answers the fewest questions on this map. § 822.101(4) is a closed list of twenty clauses, nineteen named mammals plus "any hybrid of an animal listed in this subdivision". It contains no reptile, no bird, no rodent and no invertebrate. Where it does bite it bites hard: § 822.103(a) requires a certificate of registration issued by the local animal control office, or the county sheriff where there is none, rather than by a state agency; § 822.107 requires liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence; and § 822.116(b) expressly preserves the power of any municipality or county to prohibit the animal outright.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 822.101-822.116, Dangerous Wild Animals →Serval in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Box turtleConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(A); § 65.331(e)

Both Terrapene species that occur in Texas are on the § 65.331(e) list, the eastern box turtle and the ornate box turtle, so the cap is six per species and commercial activity is barred outright. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it. Texas is a state where the box turtle question is often reported as a flat ban and it is not one; it is a low cap with no sale. The related restriction to know is § 65.331(b), which bars possessing or using a net or trap capable of catching a turtle while on or in public water, dip nets and small minnow traps excepted.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Box turtle in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Flying squirrelConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(B); § 65.331(d)

The eastern flying squirrel is named on the § 65.331(d) list, and the word "squirrels" is not what puts it there; the list names Glaucomys volans specifically. So Texas allows 25 without a permit and bars selling, offering for sale, exchanging or bartering any of them. This entry previously read as unrestricted, citing the fur-bearing animal definition at Parks & Wild. Code § 71.001, which is a closed list of eleven animals that includes no squirrel. That reading was correct about the fur-bearer chapter and was looking at the wrong rule. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Flying squirrel in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Garter snakeConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(A); § 65.331(e)

The § 65.331(d) list names three Texas garter snakes, the western blackneck, the checkered and the western ribbon, and it does not name Thamnophis sirtalis. The common gartersnake is instead on the § 65.331(e) list, which drops it to the lower cap: six without a permit, and no selling, offering for sale, exchanging or bartering at all. This entry previously read as unrestricted, citing the dangerous wild animal statute, which contains no reptile. The rule that answers a native Texas snake is the nongame subchapter, and within it the two lists give different answers to two garter snakes. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Garter snake in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Green anoleConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(B); § 65.331(d)

Anolis carolinensis is on the § 65.331(d) list, and it is native across the eastern half of Texas, so a keeper may hold 25 without a permit but may not sell, offer for sale, exchange or barter one. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it. This is the animal on this map where the Texas cap is most likely to surprise someone, because green anoles are sold nationally as cheap starter lizards and the buyer is the one the cap follows.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Green anole in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Hognose snakeConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(B); § 65.331(d)

Both Texas hognose species are on the § 65.331(d) list by name, the western Heterodon nasicus and the eastern H. platirhinos, so whichever one a keeper has, the answer is 25 without a permit and no commercial activity. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it. The western hognose is the ordinary pet-trade animal and is squarely native to Texas, so the captive-bred qualification is the one that matters here.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Hognose snake in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Milk snakeConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(B); § 65.331(d)

Lampropeltis triangulum is named on the § 65.331(d) list, and milksnakes are native across east and central Texas, so this is nongame wildlife: 25 without a permit, and no selling, offering for sale, exchanging or bartering. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it. That is the difference between this animal and the corn snake in Texas, which is not native and is not capped at all.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Milk snake in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Prairie dogConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(B); § 65.331(d)

The black-tailed prairie dog is on the § 65.331(d) list by name, which makes it nongame wildlife with a hard cap of 25 and no permit below that, provided the keeper does not sell, offer for sale, exchange or barter one. This entry previously read as unrestricted on the strength of the dangerous wild animal statute, which is accurate and is the wrong rule: that list contains no rodent, and Cynomys ludovicianus is native to the Texas panhandle and plains, which is what brings the nongame rule down on it. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it. Taking one from the wild is a further question governed by the hunting licence requirement in § 65.327(c)(1).

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Prairie dog in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Red-eared sliderConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(A); § 65.331(e)

Trachemys scripta is on the § 65.331(e) list, which is the lower tier: six without a permit and no sale, offer for sale, exchange or barter. The slider is native across most of Texas, which is what brings the rule down on it, and the same list names the Big Bend slider separately. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it. The federal four-inch rule under 21 C.F.R. 1240.62 is the other half of the answer for hatchlings and is unaffected by any of this.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Red-eared slider in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Snapping turtleConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(A); § 65.331(e)

The common snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina, is on the § 65.331(e) list: six without a permit, no commercial activity. Do not read across from the alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys temminckii, which Texas lists as threatened under 31 TAC § 65.175, where § 65.171(b)(2) bars taking, possessing, transporting, importing, exporting or selling it altogether. Two snapping turtles, two entirely different answers, and the name is what runs them together. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Snapping turtle in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Tiger salamanderConditions apply

31 TAC § 65.327(b)(3)(B); § 65.331(d)

Ambystoma tigrinum is on the § 65.331(d) list and is native across most of Texas, so the answer is 25 without a permit and no commercial activity in them. The cap reaches captive-bred animals: § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so a pet shop receipt does not lift it. Note the § 65.331(e) list names eight other Ambystoma and Eurycea salamanders at the lower cap of six, so the tiger salamander is on the more permissive of the two lists rather than outside the scheme.

How this rule works: The rule that decides a Texas pet question whenever the animal is native, and the one the dangerous wild animal statute distracts from. § 65.327(a) starts from a prohibition, "no person may collect, acquire, possess, import, export, cause the import or export of, or engage in a commercial activity involving nongame wildlife", and § 65.327(b)(3) then gives an unlicensed keeper two numbers: 25 of a species on the § 65.331(d) list, six of anything else. Three definitions carry the weight. § 65.325(a) says nongame wildlife "includes captive-bred nongame wildlife", so buying from a breeder does not lift the cap. The same sentence limits the subchapter to VERTEBRATE wildlife, which is narrower than the statute it implements, since Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 says "vertebrate and invertebrate", and that gap is what leaves every terrestrial invertebrate outside the scheme entirely. And § 65.326(2) defines commercial activity as "the sale, offer for sale, exchange, or barter", so buying is not itself commercial activity, and § 65.327(b)(1)(B) lets a permitted dealer "sell lawfully obtained nongame wildlife to anyone". The two species lists are attached figures rather than statutory text: the (d) list names about 100 species, and the (e) list is longer and expressly "not limited to" what it names, so a native species on neither list falls to the six cap.

Checked against the published text on 5 September 2026.

31 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 65.325-65.331, Commercial Nongame Permits, with Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 67.001 →Tiger salamander in every state →Full legal guide →Link to this row

Exotic pet laws in Texas

What Texas restricts

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