Illegal Pets in Florida and Pet Release Laws

Q: Can I release a pet snake, lizard, fish, or bird in Florida?

No, if the animal is not native to Florida, unless the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has authorized it. Section 379.231 makes that release a Level Three violation. The FWC Don't Let It Loose page says release of nonnative fish and wildlife is illegal.

Q: Which reptiles cannot be kept as a new personal pet?

Section 379.372(2) lists Burmese or Indian python, reticulated python, Northern African python, Southern African python, amethystine or scrub python, green anaconda, Nile monitor, green iguana, tegu lizards in the genera Salvator or Tupinambis, and any other reptile the commission designates conditional or prohibited. The statute allows those animals for educational, research, or eradication or control purposes. The FWC says prohibited species may not be kept for personal use, with limited exceptions for green iguanas and tegus.

Q: What do I do with a python, iguana, or other nonnative pet I can no longer keep?

Use the FWC Exotic Pet Amnesty Program. It is free, it takes requests year-round for any reason, and it accepts Conditional and Prohibited species. Call 888-483-4681, extension 1, or use the FWC rehoming form. Do not release the animal.

The short version

Do not release it. Section 379.231 makes it unlawful to release in Florida any animal that is not native, unless the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission authorizes it. That violation is Level Three.
Some reptiles cannot be a new personal pet. Section 379.372 lists the pythons, the green anaconda, the Nile monitor, the green iguana, tegu lizards, and any other reptile the commission designates conditional or prohibited.
A permit is required for wildlife. Section 379.3762 says Class I wildlife shall not be possessed as a personal pet. Other wildlife in that section needs a permit. Conditional species are not personal pets, except red-eared sliders.
There is a legal way to give the animal up. The FWC Exotic Pet Amnesty Program is free, takes requests all year, and accepts Conditional and Prohibited species. Call 888-483-4681, extension 1.
A dog or a cat is a different law. The amnesty program does not take dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, or livestock. Leaving one without care can be a crime under section 828.13, with a fine of not more than $5,000 written in that section.

A canal, a lake, a field, or a patch of woods is not a place to leave a pet. The FWC says released nonnative animals may struggle to survive, and they can threaten Florida's ecology, economy, and human health and safety.

FWC Exotic Pet Amnesty Program Rehoming form

Releasing a nonnative animal

Section 379.231 says it is unlawful to import for sale or use, or to release within this state, any species of the animal kingdom not native to Florida unless authorized by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A violation is a Level Three violation under section 379.4015.

The FWC page Don't Let It Loose says the release of nonnative fish and wildlife is illegal. That page quotes three more rules in its own words:

It is unlawful to possess, transport, or otherwise bring into the state, or to release or introduce in the state, any freshwater fish, aquatic invertebrate, marine plant, marine animal, or wild animal life that is not native to the state without a permit from the commission, except fathead minnow, variable platy, coturnix quail, and ring-necked pheasant. The FWC page cites rule 68-5.001.
It is unlawful to import into the state, or place in any fresh water of the state, any freshwater fish of any species without a permit. The FWC page cites section 379.28.
It is unlawful to import or possess any marine plant or marine animal not indigenous to the state which, because of the effect of state waters on procreation, may endanger or infect marine resources or pose a human health hazard, except as that section provides. The FWC page cites section 379.26.

Those four named exceptions are the ones the Don't Let It Loose page prints. An animal that is not on that list is outside that exception. The current rule text is in Chapter 68-5 of the Florida Administrative Code. Read that chapter before you treat any species name as an exception.

A pet store animal, a gift animal, and an animal you caught and kept are the same question under section 379.231 if the species is not native to Florida. The lawful path is a commission authorization, or the amnesty program. The woods are not that path.

Letting a reptile out, or letting one get out

Section 379.305 splits the act by the kind of reptile:

Knowingly releasing a nonnative reptile of concern, or allowing one to escape through gross negligence, is a Level Three violation.
Knowingly releasing a nonnative venomous reptile, or allowing one to escape through gross negligence, is a Level Four violation.
Knowingly purchasing, selling, offering, bartering, trading, or importing for sale or use any venomous reptile species without the special permit or license in section 379.372 is a Level Four violation.

Section 379.4015 also lists, as Level Three, commission rules that prohibit the release of wildlife for which only conditional possession is allowed, and commission rules on the importation, possession, or release of fish and wildlife for which possession is prohibited.

Reptiles that cannot be a new personal pet

Section 379.372(1) says no person may capture, keep, possess, or exhibit any poisonous or venomous reptile, or any reptile of concern, without a special permit or license from the commission.

Section 379.372(2)(a) says a person may not keep, possess, import into the state, sell, barter, trade, or breed the following, except for educational, research, or eradication or control purposes:

In the statute	Scientific name in section 379.372
Burmese or Indian python	Python molurus
Reticulated python	Python reticulatus
Northern African python	Python sebae
Southern African python	Python natalensis
Amethystine or scrub python	Morelia amethystinus
Green anaconda	Eunectes murinus
Nile monitor	Varanus niloticus
Green iguana	Iguana iguana
Tegu lizard	Any species of the genera Salvator or Tupinambis
Later designations	Any other reptile the commission designates conditional or prohibited

The FWC prohibited list is the rule list. Commissioners approved Chapter 68-5 changes on February 25, 2021, adding 16 high-risk nonnative reptiles. That page says future possession by eligible entities is limited to research, educational exhibition, control or eradication, qualifying commercial sales of green iguanas and tegus only, and pet owners of green iguanas and tegus only.

The same FWC page also names the brown tree snake, the Beni anaconda, DeSchauensee's anaconda, the yellow anaconda, and sea snakes in the family Hydrophiidae, except as paragraph 68-5.007(1)(f) describes. It also lists zebra mussels, quagga mussels, mitten crabs, crayfish in the genus Cherax with a closed-tank exception for redclaw, flying foxes, mongooses and meerkats, the dhole, the brushtail possum, and four birds: the Java sparrow, the red-whiskered bulbul, the red-billed quelea, and the pink starling. Use the official list before you buy, import, or move an animal. This page does not copy every scientific name on it.

People who already had one

The statute writes several limits. They are not a new-pet permission.

Green iguanas and tegus, commercial. A person, firm, or corporation that held a valid captive wildlife Class III exhibition or sale license on January 1, 2020, and documented green iguanas or tegu lizards on the 2019 application, may be grandfathered to keep exhibiting, selling, or breeding them commercially while that license stays active. The status is void if the license is transferred or lapses. Sales of that inventory may be made only outside Florida. The species may not be imported into Florida.
A permit from before July 1, 2010. A holder of a permit issued before July 1, 2010, under subsection (1), for a species listed in paragraph (2)(a), may possess that reptile for the rest of the reptile's life. If the licensee dies or the license ends and the reptile is still alive, it may transfer to another entity that holds a permit authorizing possession, for the rest of that reptile's life.
A species added later. If the commission designates a reptile conditional or prohibited after July 1, 2010, it may authorize personal possession by people already licensed for that species before the designation takes effect. That possession is lawful only when the commission authorized it.
Traveling exhibits and zoos. Subsection (2) does not apply to traveling wildlife exhibitors licensed or registered under the United States Animal Welfare Act, or to zoological facilities licensed or exempted by the commission.

The FWC regulations page says it is illegal to import or breed green iguanas and tegus in captivity in Florida, so a permitted seller must collect green iguanas from the wild in Florida for animals sold out of state. The same page says some limited exceptions allow personal possession of green iguanas or tegus with a no-cost permit. The FWC prohibited page says a Nile monitor possessed for personal use by a reptile-of-concern license holder before July 1, 2010 may stay with that owner for the life of the animal, and a valid license to possess it must be maintained under section 379.372. Read the FWC regulations page and the pet-owner page before you treat an older animal as covered.

Permits, conditional species, and red-eared sliders

Section 379.3762 says it is unlawful to possess any wildlife as defined in that act, whether native to Florida or not, until a permit is obtained from the commission. The classes and the fee written in the section are:

Class	What section 379.3762 says
Class I	Wildlife which, because of its nature, habits, or status, shall not be possessed as a personal pet.
Class II	Wildlife considered to present a real or potential threat to human safety. The fee written in the section is $140 per year.
Class III	All other wildlife not in Class I or Class II. A no-cost permit must be obtained from the commission.

The section does not apply to ostriches, emus, rheas, and bison domesticated and confined for commercial farming. That exception does not cover animals kept on hunting preserves or game farms, or kept primarily for exhibition in zoos, carnivals, circuses, and similar places. A violation of the section is punishable as provided in section 379.4015. Whether a particular household animal is "wildlife" under the act is answered in the captive-wildlife rules, which this page does not copy. Start at the FWC captive-wildlife page.

Conditional species

The FWC regulations page says conditional species may be imported and possessed by permitted entities for research, commercial import and export, or public exhibition. It says they may not be acquired or kept for personal use, with the exception of red-eared sliders. The conditional species list is the roster. This page does not reprint it.

Red-eared sliders

The amnesty page says red-eared sliders are a conditional species that require a free permit to possess as a personal pet. Albino and amelanistic red-eared sliders may be possessed as pets without a permit. Adopters must have adequate indoor tanks or outdoor enclosures. An outdoor enclosure must be fully enclosed by a barrier secured at least 6 inches below ground, so the turtle cannot escape by digging, climbing, or crawling through gaps. All red-eared slider eggs must be destroyed immediately upon detection. The same page says red-eared sliders are the most rehomed pet in the program and the most difficult to place.

How to give a nonnative pet a new home

The FWC Exotic Pet Amnesty Program is the program the Don't Let It Loose page points to. The amnesty page says:

It is free.
You can ask to rehome a nonnative pet for any reason.
Rehoming requests are accepted year-round.
Conditional and Prohibited species are accepted.
Owners in need can receive temporary amnesty from the requirements in rule Chapter 68-5.

Call the FWC Invasive Species Hotline at 888-483-4681, extension 1. The FWC prints that number as 888-Ive-Got1. The online form is the rehoming form. People who want to adopt file the adopter application.

For a Prohibited species, the program can fly the animal to a qualified adopter in the United States. The program books and pays for the flight under IATA special-cargo rules. The owner prepares the flight container and takes the animal to an airline cargo facility the program names. The program says it will try to work with the owner's schedule.

The same page says owners of conditional or prohibited pets are required to hold the proper permit and permanently mark the animal with a PIT tag, and to follow the biosecurity measures. An owner may request rehoming and receive temporary amnesty from the Chapter 68-5 requirements while that request is handled.

Native wildlife kept as a pet is outside this program. The FWC points those owners to the captive-wildlife rules. For a sick or injured wild animal, the amnesty page says to contact a local wildlife rehabilitator or call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline.

Call 888-483-4681, ext. 1 Open the rehoming form

Dogs, cats, and other domestic animals

The amnesty page says domestic pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and livestock such as pigs and chickens, are not accepted. It tells those owners to ask a local shelter or rescue.

Section 828.13 is the abandonment law. "Abandon" means to forsake an animal entirely, or to neglect or refuse to provide or perform the legal obligations for care and support of an animal by its owner. "Owner" includes an owner, a custodian, or another person in charge of the animal.

Impounding or confining an animal and failing to supply enough good and wholesome food and water, keeping animals in an enclosure without wholesome exercise and change of air, or abandoning to die an animal that is maimed, sick, infirm, or diseased: a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable as provided in section 775.082 or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or both. That dollar amount is written in section 828.13.
An owner, possessor, or custodian who abandons an animal to suffer injury or malnutrition, or abandons any animal in a street, road, or public place without providing care, sustenance, protection, and shelter: the same, a first-degree misdemeanor, with a fine of not more than $5,000 written in the section.
Restraining a dog outside during a natural disaster and then abandoning the dog: a third-degree felony, punishable as provided in section 775.082 or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. That dollar amount is written in section 828.13.

In that section, "restrain" means to attach a dog to a stationary object or a trolley system by a chain, rope, tether, leash, cable, or other device. "Natural disaster" means a hurricane, tropical storm, or tornado warning issued for the city or county by the National Weather Service, or a mandatory or voluntary evacuation order for that city or county.

A city or county animal-control ordinance can add its own rules for dogs and cats. This page does not copy those local codes. Beach rules for dogs are on Dogs on Florida beaches.

What the penalty statutes say

Section 379.4015 sorts captive-wildlife offenses into levels. The dollar amounts below are the ones that section, or section 828.13, writes itself. Where a row says the degree only, the statute points to sections 775.082 or 775.083 for the general punishment and does not restate a dollar amount in the wildlife section.

What happened	What the statute calls it	Amount written in that section
Release or illegal import of a nonnative animal under section 379.231. First Level Three offense, and no Level Three or higher conviction in the past 10 years.	First-degree misdemeanor	No dollar amount is printed in section 379.4015 for this first offense.
A Level Three offense within 10 years of a previous Level Three or higher conviction.	First-degree misdemeanor	Minimum mandatory fine of $750, and permanent revocation of all licenses or permits to possess captive wildlife issued under chapter 379.
A Level Four offense. That includes a Level Three offense after a license or permit was permanently revoked, knowingly releasing a nonnative venomous reptile or letting one escape through gross negligence, and selling or importing a venomous reptile without the special permit.	Third-degree felony	No dollar amount is printed in section 379.4015 for the felony. Section 379.305 is the reptile section.
A Level Two offense, including a violation of section 379.372 or section 379.3762, with no Level Two or higher conviction in the past 3 years.	Second-degree misdemeanor	No dollar amount is printed in section 379.4015 for this first offense.
A Level Two offense within 3 years of a previous Level Two or higher conviction.	First-degree misdemeanor	Minimum mandatory fine of $250.
A Level Two offense within 5 years of any two previous Level Two or higher convictions.	First-degree misdemeanor	Minimum mandatory fine of $500, and a 1-year suspension of licenses issued under chapter 379 related to captive wildlife.
A Level Two offense within 10 years of any three previous Level Two or higher convictions.	First-degree misdemeanor	Minimum mandatory fine of $750, and a 3-year suspension of those licenses.
A Level Two offense that violates section 379.372, or a rule on wildlife identified as conditional or prohibited.	Added on top of the Level Two penalty above	Minimum mandatory fine of $100, and immediate surrender of the wildlife, unless the person lawfully obtains a permit for possession.
A criminal conviction under section 379.231, 379.372, 379.3761, or 379.3762.	Civil penalty the commission may impose, in addition to the criminal penalty	Not more than $5,000 for each animal, unless the section's own additions apply. For all related violations attributable to a specific violator, the total civil penalty may not exceed $10,000 for each assessment for each animal.
Abandoning an animal, or failing to feed, water, or exercise a confined animal, under section 828.13(2) or (3).	First-degree misdemeanor	A fine of not more than $5,000, written in section 828.13.
Restraining a dog outside during the storm or evacuation defined in section 828.13, and then abandoning the dog.	Third-degree felony	A fine of not more than $10,000, written in section 828.13.

On the civil penalty, section 379.4015(6) also says the history of noncompliance is considered, the direct economic benefit may be added, and the commission's costs of escape, recovery, and care shall be added. The civil penalty assessed for a violation may not exceed $5,000 for each animal unless the violator has a history of noncompliance, the economic benefit exceeds $5,000, or those commission costs exceed $5,000. The commission may reduce the civil penalty for mitigating circumstances, including good-faith efforts to comply. That is not a flat fine of $5,000.

Section 379.4015 lists a violation of section 379.372 as Level Two. It lists commission rules on importation, possession, or release of fish and wildlife for which possession is prohibited as Level Three. Both sentences are in the statute. Possession of one prohibited animal can meet more than one of those sentences. The levels above are the labels the statute uses.

For purposes of section 379.4015, "conviction" means any judicial disposition other than acquittal or dismissal. The court may order suspension or revocation of a captive-wildlife license or permit when a person commits an offense or infraction specified in the section. The commission can also suspend or revoke a captivity license by administrative action under chapter 120.

Questions

Can I release a pet snake, lizard, fish, or bird in Florida?

No, if the animal is not native to Florida, unless the commission has authorized it. Section 379.231 makes that release a Level Three violation. The FWC Don't Let It Loose page says release of nonnative fish and wildlife is illegal.

Which reptiles cannot be kept as a new personal pet?

Section 379.372(2) lists the Burmese or Indian python, reticulated python, Northern African python, Southern African python, amethystine or scrub python, green anaconda, Nile monitor, green iguana, tegu lizards in the genera Salvator or Tupinambis, and any other reptile the commission designates conditional or prohibited. The allowed purposes in that paragraph are educational, research, or eradication or control. The FWC says prohibited species may not be kept for personal use, with limited exceptions for green iguanas and tegus.

What do I do with a python, iguana, or other nonnative pet I can no longer keep?

Use the Exotic Pet Amnesty Program. It is free, it takes requests year-round for any reason, and it accepts Conditional and Prohibited species. Call 888-483-4681, extension 1, or use the rehoming form. Do not release the animal.

Will that program take a dog or a cat?

No. The FWC amnesty page says dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and livestock such as pigs and chickens are not accepted. Take those animals to a local shelter or rescue. Leaving one in a street or public place without care is a separate crime under section 828.13.

What does the statute call the penalty for releasing a nonnative animal?

A first Level Three violation, with no Level Three or higher conviction in the past 10 years, is a first-degree misdemeanor. A Level Three violation within 10 years of an earlier Level Three or higher conviction is also a first-degree misdemeanor, with a minimum mandatory fine of $750 and permanent revocation of captive-wildlife licenses and permits. A Level Four violation is a third-degree felony. After a criminal conviction under section 379.231, the commission may also impose a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each animal, with the limits and additions written in section 379.4015.

Sources

Checked November 6, 2026, against the 2026 Florida Statutes on the Florida Senate site and the FWC pages linked here. A later rule change belongs to the commission. The prohibited and conditional lists on the FWC site are the full rosters.

The statute and the commission's rule control. This page reports the sections and the FWC pages opened on November 6, 2026.

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