@RatioTile There’s several species available through pet shops, which can be kept by anyone. Bearded dragons seem to be the most popular. Native gecko species can be kept with a permit, which isn’t hard to get. A friend of mine in high school had a classmate who had several native geckos (with a permit).
@RatioTile Snakes are forbidden full stop. We don’t even have them in zoos. Turtles (and tortoises) are kept by many people within the pet industry without permit. The most popular are the Red-eared slider turtles. New Zealand even has one as a mascot for sun smarts: Demo: Home I legit thought this was a turtle with make up when I first moved to New Zealand as a kid and didn’t know what a Red-eared slider turtle was (we didn’t have them in England).
@German Zoo World To protect New Zealand’s wildlife from introduced predators. New Zealand has no end of problems from introduced species like rabbits, rats and mustelids; so there’s a ban on any new species that could thrive in the wild if accidentally released. We don’t even have hamsters!
